False Obsession Turned Real
by TwelveTurquoise12
Summary: Bree's obsession with the Bailey Twins mystery may or may not have evolved into a small crush on Conner Bailey. Just a small one. The history of the relationship between Conner and Bree, from pre-TLOS 2 to TLOS 6 and beyond. Canon to all my other works except 7 Days. Cross posted on Wattpad.
1. Teaser

Obey the Cupid's arrow, no matter how unconventional it may lead you to

Born to be with each other, even if they don't have a clue

Search for that one person for your love tale

Escape from love you may try, but you will fail

Sink into love so bad it feels like madness

Surely, once you start to love someone

It will steal a piece of your heart forever

Over and over again, you will fall for them (that should be clear)

No matter you like it or not, your feelings won't disappear

* * *

 **A/N: This little teaser is actually a hint of the title of this new fic I'll be working on. It's going to be a Conner X Bree romance story. I've been planning for this for over a year (no kidding), so I really look forward to sharing it with all of you. It's like my baby. My precious brainchild.**

 **I think I've told a couple of you guys over here about this story. Well yeah, after much procrastination, the teaser is finally here.**

 **By the way, I'm not much of a poet even though I try to be poetic (ends up with me cringing), so feel free to give me comments.**

 **...And there is no such mysterious external force pushing Conner and Bree together, nor is this an AU. It will be mostly canon to TLOS 1 to 6.**

 **(By the way, this is in the Poetry category because I don't want this site to arrest me for posting a preview (it's not allowed). So just think of this as a piece of poetry with hidden meaning.)**

 **Sooo, what do you think is this? It's a hint of the title, and the title is a hint of the plot. Feel free to guess.**

 **Hint: the sentences in the poem are not the main point. Look at the organization.**


	2. Chapter 1: School Life Just Got Better

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. I do own the idea and my OC(s).**

* * *

Chapter 1: School Life Just Got Better

"New school year, new beginnings," Alex Bailey hummed happily to herself as she skipped along the road.

"Only you can be chirpy in the morning," her twin brother Conner grumbled, looking like he was about to fall asleep while walking. "And it's a school day! I haven't woken up this early for the whole summer holiday!" His face was puffy and his eyes were half-closed. He dragged his feet slowly along the pavement like a zombie.

"We're in seventh grade now," Alex said excitedly, turning to her brother. "Isn't it nice?"

"If it involves school, it's never nice," Conner muttered. He couldn't get why Alex loved school so much.

Almost everyone in the twins' old elementary school went to their junior high. Other than that, there were also people from other elementary schools. But the thing that really ticked Conner off was that Mrs. Peters, his sixth grade teacher, was becoming his current school's principal. He knew Mrs. Peters was a good teacher, but she was so stern and for most of the time Conner was in her bad books, so she was especially strict with him. Just as Conner wanted to take a break from the "dragon lady", she _had_ to be teaching him again.

"Just saying, did you really finish your holiday homework?" Alex gave Conner a stern yet amused glare that reminded him of his mother.

"Of course I did!" Conner said defensively. "Don't you remember how much I had slaved for it last night?" He sighed and massaged his forehead. Charlotte had lectured her son about not finishing his homework earlier, and only stopped to let him do it.

The two continued their path to school, Alex grinning giddily and Conner yawning every minute or so. Once, Conner nearly got hit by a car, as he wasn't paying to where he was walking, but fortunately Alex yanked her brother back. Conner blinked; he was too tired to be alert. The horn blared loudly as the driver glared at Conner, eyebrows knitted together in an unattractive expression.

"Sorry!" Alex cried, grinning sheepishly. Then she whipped her heads towards her brother, demeanor changing from sunny to stormy in less than a second.

"You could have died!" Alex scolded Conner, bright blue eyes filled with anger and worry. "Please be alert!"

"Well, it's been a long time since I had a near death experience," Conner mumbled half to himself, half to Alex.

There was silence as the two walked on, that single sentence triggering thoughts inside their heads. Alex knew Conner was referring to their adventures in the Land of Stories. It had been almost a year since their memorable experience in a world which they previously thought was fictional.

They both missed it very much, like a piece of them was left in the Land of Stories. Alex knew there was some truth to this. She and Conner were actually the grandchildren of the famous Fairy Godmother. Unfortunately, they hadn't seen her ever since they left the Land of Stories.

But sometimes Alex thought that Conner didn't miss the fairy tale world as much as she did. She felt like she should be back in the Fairy Palace, learning magic from her grandma. Alex might be exaggerating, but she thought being a fairy was her destiny. Conner, on the other hand, too missed the characters they encountered, but quickly adapted to the Otherworld.

"I miss cheeseburgers," Conner had said when they came back. He had then proceeded to go to the nearest McDonald's to buy a ton of fast food. Conner's love for modern appliances (such as air conditioning, WiFi and television) had made him easily go from the Land of Stories to the Otherworld.

"I miss them," Conner said quietly. "Froggy, Goldilocks, Jack, Red, Grandma. Heck, I think I might be even missing Trollbella- nope, I would never miss her. The Evil Queen looks like a tame bunny compared to her."

"No. I think the Evil Queen is more frightening." Alex disagreed with her brother. "Remember how terrifying she looked when you broke that vial of fairy tears?"

"You weren't the one who got forced to kiss Trollbella!" Conner argued, defending his honour. "It was disgusting! Maybe I'll get a fear of kisses! Besides," he jabbed a finger in his sister's direction. "You were the one who pushed me!"

"Okay, okay!" Alex raised her hands in an "I surrender" way. "I know you don't want to do it, but it was our only way out!"

" _Don't want_?" Conner questioned incredulously. "I'll rather serve a month of detention! With Mrs. Peters!" He stopped, looking horrified. "Wait, did I just say that?"

"I thought you hated detentions," Alex commented.

Conner shrugged. "I guess I've been too used to detentions, it's just as normal as sleeping in lessons."

"Conner!" Alex gasped indignantly. "That is so disrespectful! And here I thought you changed after our adventures!"

"Chill, chill." Conner chuckled. "I was only kidding. I haven't slept in lessons for months, but now considering my extremely tired state I might just fall asleep today." He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. He was suddenly yanked to his right, and he stumbled over his feet. Conner turned to Alex for an explanation, seeing she held his arm in a tight grip. Alex was using so much force her knuckles had turned white.

"You nearly hit a trash can," Alex said in reply. "You don't want to go to school covered in rotten vegetables and banana peel, do you?

* * *

Actually, going back to school wasn't a really big event.

"Yes, Mom," Bree said for what felt like the hundredth time. She was standing right on the doorstep, hands stuck in pockets nonchalantly, waiting for her mother to stop fussing over her.

"Have a good time sweetie!" Mrs. Campbell said brightly, after reminding her daughter about the things she had to bring ("Did you bring a hole puncher?" "Mom, why do I need a hole puncher on the first day of school?"). She squealed suddenly, surprising her daughter.

"My little daughter has grown up…" the mother tackled Bree into a hug. Bree hugged her back, looking slightly uncomfortable but appreciated her mother's adoration.

"Mom, I'll be fine," Bree stressed on the word "fine". She smiled slightly. "No worries."

"Have a good day!" Mrs. Campbell said again, finally releasing Bree. The girl stepped out and onto the pavement, then turned back and waved, "Bye Mom!"

"Bye sweetheart!" Mrs. Campbell waved back enthusiastically.

When the house was out of sight, Bree sighed and readjusted her signature beanie. It had gotten a bit lopsided when her mom hugged her. It wasn't like she didn't like her mother, but sometimes she could be a bit too excited.

Bree, on the other hand, wasn't particularly interested or excited at the prospect of going back to school. It was just doing the same things over and over again. In fact, she rarely showed much enthusiasm in anything. She was quieter than her peers, but had a quick and witty tongue, which could be deadly at times.

As she trudged along the road, Bree thought this year would be just an average, normal year. She'll meet new people, make new friends, and survive through the midst of exams, tests and piles of homework.

Just your normal junior high school life.

* * *

"Conner!"

"Freddie!"

The twins had just stepped in the school campus when Conner was ambushed by his best friend, Fred Hayford. He was tall boy with slightly spiky blond hair. Conner had known him since kindergarten, and they were always by each other's side. Fred flung an arm across Conner's shoulder, welcoming him heartily. "Dude, I haven't seen you for a month!" Fred yelled in Conner's ear, steel grey eyes alight with excitement.

"Yeah, and now let's welcome ourselves back into this infernal prison," Conner gestured to the school. "We're back to the never-ending cycle of homework."

"I know!" Freddie whined, but almost immediately, several guys bounded over to them. Conner was very popular, had lots of friends, and knew a lot of people. Even at a new school, Conner had a lot of acquaintances.

Alex stared wistfully at them, wishing she had friends too. In her old school, her only friend was Conner. It wasn't like people hated her, they just talked to her when they needed to. Mostly, her classmates just asked her about homework and questions like "how do you do this sum".

The boys let out a boisterous laugh, and started clapping Conner on the back. He grinned at them; apparently he had made a joke which the boys could relate to. Then he scratched his head sheepishly. Alex, figuring out that she was very out of place among the rowdy boys, quietly left the scene.

* * *

When Bree was younger, she had an infinite amount of trivia that she would spew at random times. Her classmates used to love that trait of hers, so she had a lot of friends, but as they grew up, they found her random information less interesting. Bree gradually became quieter, but her curiosity remained. The girl was observant for her age, and a few years ago, she had began to read detective stories. Bree found them intriguing, but unfortunately, none of the people she knew were as passionate about mysteries as she was..

Even though Bree called them "friends", no one was her true friend. She just hung out with them, stuck with them for group projects, and walked behind them when the pavement wasn't wide enough for all of them. Some of those "friends" went to the same school as Bree did now. Naturally, being about the only people she knew, she stood with them.

She listened quietly to their conversations, hardly joining in. She was fine with being generally left out, it wasn't like she treasured them as her best buds anyway.

"Oh no!" a girl cried from Bree's right. "I've forgotten to do a few problems on my Maths homework! Can someone let me copy their work?"

Without uttering a word, Bree reached in her bag and handed the girl her homework. It was a fairly common occurrence in the group. Bree was willing to give them her homework because if she didn't, they would nag her continuously about it (and she hated clingy people).

"Thank you!" the girl gushed.

"You're welcome," Bree replied with a small smile.

Sometimes, Bree thought she was pretty satisfied with her life, but every now and then, she thought something was missing.

* * *

On the first few days of school, there was a typical what-did-you-do-in-the-holidays presentation. Its goal was to break the ice among the students, who had been shuffling around nervously, trying to get used to their new surroundings.

Conner's English class was unfortunately not with Fred or Alex, but since he knew a lot of people, he didn't mind very much. Even if he didn't know anyone, Conner, the social butterfly would just make friends easily.

Conner had procrastinated on his presentation script (again), but gave up halfway and decided just to think of something during the presentation (yet again). Alex had just glared at him while she worked on her own script.

So Conner improvised, but by his natural ability to charm people the class seemed to enjoy his presentation. In the middle of laughter, Conner returned to his seat sheepishly and heaved a sigh of relief.

 _Oh good. I survived this. Now I can slack off during the rest of this lesson._ He thought. They were assigned to give their presentations according to alphabetical order, so Conner was one of the first people.

"Next up, Miss Campbell."

Conner decided to daydream about the Land of Stories for the rest of the period. It was a bit rude for him to ignore everyone else's presentation, but Conner was sleepy and it wasn't like anyone would care. The teacher would be too focused on the presenter and the presenter would be too focused on not messing up.

Bree walked to the front of the classroom, script in hand. She looked at the faces she didn't recognized, with half of them staring at her with interest, the other half looking asleep.

Conner decided to look at the presenter for a second because he didn't want to give of the impression of not listening (he was planning to try out this mystical thing Alex called "multitasking"). And he instantly regretted it.

Why?

Because for some reason, his eyes immediately darted away and his face felt like it was scorched. He let his eyes wander for a while on the wall (it was so interesting) before daring to return to the girl.

Conner had seen a lot of pretty girls. One was his sister (he told her that not to offend her), some others include Red and Goldilocks. But none of them had made him felt like a warm river had just coursed through him.

Yes, Conner acknowledged that the girl was pretty, but why did his heart skip a bit? Why did it feel like something was twisting on his stomach? This girl had blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a purple beanie. From what he could see the girl wore some beaded bracelets around her wrist. She wasn't wearing something extravagant, or something that made her stand out, then _why_ did he feel so attracted to her?

Bree brushed away a strand of hair in front of her face and tucked it behind her ear, and somehow that action made Conner's brain go short circuit. Mouth parting slightly, Conner just stared blindly.

As Bree began to speak, Conner spaced out, not hearing a single word. He had no idea on why his mind went blank, and why everything seemed to speeding past him. His breathing quickened every time he thought of the girl.

Bree just read what she wrote on her piece of paper. It was mainly about going to an amusement park with her sisters and parents. It was a basic presentation, so Bree didn't put a lot of effort in it. She just wanted to get it done with.

At the end of Bree's short speech, Conner regretted having not listened to it. If he did he might have known more about her, her interests, her family… wait, why was he suddenly so curious about a girl?

* * *

A week or so had passed since the beginning of the new school year. Alex and Conner gradually adapted to the school's pace. Conner fell back into the daily routine of doing homework at the last moment and Alex busied herself with assignments and essays. The twins' thirteenth birthday was nearing, and Charlotte frantically brainstormed up ideas to celebrate.

But nearly being thirteen didn't mean Conner acted like a thirteen-year-old. He somehow slept through his alarm clock and shut off the snooze button, so when he finally woke up, Alex was already eating breakfast.

"Shoot!" Conner exclaimed when he realized he only had five minutes to get ready. He dashed to the bathroom, footsteps pounding loudly in the small rental house.

"No swearing!" Charlotte called, as Alex ate her breakfast calmly, reading the nutrition labels on a cereal box.

"That wasn't a swear word!" Conner yelled back, voice slightly muffled.

It was a terrible day for Conner. After waking up late, in his clumsiness he spilled milk on his shirt and had to go to change again. He was running late, _extremely_ late. Alex had left already, giving Conner a sympathetic smile.

Conner dashed to the school, his hair a wild mess, his clothes slightly rumpled. Charlotte had stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth before he left, insisting that he should have some food. Conner chewed furiously, narrowly missing a car as he sprinted across the road. He nearly slipped over a puddle, and after maneuvering around the roads, he finally reached his school.

Conner panted, his tongue out as if he was a dog. "I made it," he muttered, chugging down some water dizzily. "Running around in the Land of Stories has its benefits." He staggered to the door, but then remembering sometimes the teacher came early, he jogged down the corridor.

Unfortunately, someone else was rounding the same corner from the other side. Unable to stop himself, Conner and the girl crashed into each other.

(Yes, it was a girl.)

 _SMACK!_

"Ow!" Conner rubbed his forehead as he stumbled back, before landing flat on his bottom. He felt pain spark in his spine. Next to him, Alex looked with slight amusement at the idiot that was her brother. The girl sighed and adjusted her headband.

(No, it wasn't who you thought it was.)

"I was going to check on you. But it seemed like you made it." Alex sighed as she stretched out a palm to Conner.

Conner put his weight on Alex's hand and was about to haul himself up, but he saw that some students had crowded around and were staring at him. One of them was the pretty blonde girl, standing by her friends and looking at him. When her brown eyes made contact with his blue ones, Conner suddenly lost focus and sat back down, blinking.

Bree was surprised at this kid's clumsiness. He looked like he was running late, his hair resembled a bird's nest, and he couldn't even get up. It seemed like he didn't know how to manage himself well, and Bree typically didn't like that type of people.

Alex sighed again. "Still asleep, I see." She then somehow dragged Conner up and pushed him to his first class, as she saw her brother was still oblivious to the world around them.

"I heard about him," a girl next to Bree said. "Conner Bailey. He's popular and funny, but for some reason he also tends to trip over things."

"He's kind of cute, don't you think?" Another girl commented.

Bree snorted and didn't reply. _I forgot this the age when we'll all become hopeless romantics._ Bree was more of a practical person than a romantic person though, so she knew it would be a bit annoying to deal with all the love dramas and unrequited crushes flying all over the school.

Conner was suddenly alert when he heard someone say he was "cute". Jerking his head backwards, he saw that the comment about him was directed to the blonde girl. Conner was suddenly very interested in hearing her reply.

"Conner!" Alex said loudly when she saw that the boy was distracted.

"Yeah!" Conner replied, snapping back to attention.

"Get a grip on yourself," the sister hissed to her brother.

"Mmhmm," he grunted in reply, tearing his eyes away from the girls.

Conner was dragged to his English class by his sister and he sat down in his usual seat. He buried his face in his arms, trying to sleep, and to wash away the embarrassing memory of him bumping into Alex.

"Wake up, dude!"

Conner jolted up, staring around him in shock. Fred's face loomed in front of him eerily. Conner rolled his eyes and backed away. "Aren't you supposed to be in some other class?" he asked.

"Well yeah," Fred said. "But since you're even later than usual, I wondered what might have happened to you."

Conner would have said something in return, but then he saw the girl entering the room with a couple of her friends.

 _The_ girl.

Conner's face started to heat up and his mind went blank. He bit his lip and looked elsewhere.

"Dude!" Fred exclaimed. "What's up with you? Cat got your tongue?"

Conner tried to come up with some smart reply, but then the girl looked over briefly, and then quickly turned back to somewhere else. And then he lost any thought he had.

Fred stared weirdly at Conner, who was staring at a fixed spot on the wall, eyes never blinking. A bell rang shrilly, bringing both of them back to the land of living.

"Crap, I'm going to be late!" Fred yelled to no one in particular as he jolted up. "See ya later!" he yelled at Conner, who was still looking rather stupefied.

As Fred ran out of the classroom, giving a strange look at Conner, Conner suddenly realized that the girl was sitting in his row, with only with three people sitting between them. As she sat down in her seat, Conner felt a sudden impulse to cover his face with a textbook or something. He felt like he couldn't face her, even though the girl he had bumped into was his sister, not her.

Which was absolutely weird, as he'd done even more embarrassing things before (like accidentally wetting his bed on his first sleepover, Fred was present and he still teased Conner about it, but he didn't care much). Conner was suddenly glad for the three people sitting between them.

Naturally, Conner tried to ignore his strange feelings, but he couldn't help but think about it. Which caused him to space out during the lesson. Which in turn, caused the teacher to ask him a question because he wasn't listening.

"Mr. Bailey, since you are not focusing on the lesson, I assume you understand everything," the teacher's sarcastic voice said. Conner immediately tensed. "Stand up. What is the answer for question 8?"

 _What question 8?_ Conner screamed in his mind, as he slowly pushed his chair back and stood up. He had zero idea of what was going on in the class. He probably looked dramatically horrified as his classmates started giggling. He looked at them for help, but nobody gave him any sign of the answer. His palms started to get sweaty and he gripped the table, frantically searching his mind for a response.

"Uh, I dunno?" he answered hesitatingly after a few seconds, a "well-I'm-so-screwed" expression on his face. The class laughed harder when they saw the teacher's disapproving glare. Conner's cheeks burned from humiliation.

"Sit down," the teacher said curtly. Conner quickly obeyed. "If you don't know the answer, I suggest you to pay more attention to the lesson."

"Mmkay," Conner muttered, sinking lower and lower in his chair, resembling a melting ice cream. He propped his textbook up and hid his face in it. Conner squinted at the words on the book, but gave up when he couldn't understand a word of English grammar.

The class was quiet, with a few smothered giggles here and there. They usually loved what they called a "Conner scene" (aka. Conner VS Teachers) but today he didn't come up with a sassy response. The usually cheeky boy sat slumped in his chair, red-faced and glaring at the textbook. If looks could kill, the book would be nothing but a pile of ash.

And that was what Bree Campbell saw when she recognized the boy. Her eyes flitted to him curiously, then focused back on her textbook, casually twirling her pencil.

Out of the corner of his eye, Conner saw the girl peering at him. He turned redder, if that was even possible, and let out a small grunt of annoyance.

 _Why_ did she had to notice him every time he messed things up? She was so calm and cool, which was the total opposite of him. He felt so lame compared to her. Wait, why was he even having these thoughts?

"Mr. Bailey?" the teacher drawled loudly, seeing that Conner had been motionless for the past minute. Conner jumped, his book nearly clattering to the ground.

"Yeah, I'm totally concentrating on the lesson now!" he yelled hastily, not wanting to be embarrassed again.

"Good," the teacher replied, then resumed teaching. Conner let out a sigh of relief, and tried to study the book. He couldn't let himself be distracted again.

Which was easier said than done.

By the end of the lesson, Conner managed to look like he was paying attention, but in reality, he was only noticing things related to the girl.

Like he discovered that her name was Bree Campbell. And every time he chanted her name in his head, he would feel really warm.

Note to self: never compare her name to that horse from Narnia. She didn't like it. Conner didn't even know about the horse from Narnia, but he didn't want to offend her. He should ask Alex, someone who had probably read all books in existence, about it.

He also discovered that had blue and pink streaks in her hair.

It was ridiculous how all of his senses immediately heightened whenever she was mentioned. Conner had never been so focused on something in school before.

Which was a bad thing as it was messing up his mind and caused him to space out at random moments. But he also felt oddly content whenever he thought about Bree. A smile would automatically form on his face.

At the end of the English lesson, Conner found himself actually looking forward to the next one, something which had _definitely_ never happened. The sheer prospect of it spooked Conner. It probably had something to do with seeing the girl again, because English class was about the only chance he would be able to see her, unless Conner went into full stalking mode.

Okay, now he sounded like a creep. He probably was one too.

And suddenly school seemed so much more interesting if Bree was there. For some reason, he wanted to spend more time with her.

And Conner knew something was terribly wrong with him if he thought school was interesting. His mind was very much jumbled up and confused. It was almost like he was slowly losing control over his mind and body, which was being taken over by an alien feeling.

The worst thing was, he had no idea how to turn himself back to normal.

* * *

 **A/N: This is AN quite long, but please bear with me.**

 **Firstly, thank you** _ **so much**_ **for clicking on this and reading it. It means a lot to me :D**

 **Secondly, I'm proud to introduce you to my brainchild FALSE OBSESSION TURNED REAL! It's something I've been dreaming up since the release of TLOS 5, so I put a lot of effort into this. Since this is the most elaborate thing I've ever thought of, I'm really scared that I'll lose motivation halfway, so please review! I love reviews, and I'll love to see what you think!**

 **Thirdly, this is set in an American high school. Since I'm not from USA, there might be some inaccuracies. I know a lot of you guys are from the States, so please correct me if I did something wrong.**

 **Fourthly, to avoid confusion, I'll state that this chapter is set between TLOS 1 and 2. I know Bree doesn't appear until TLOS 3, but I suppose the twins will still know her prior to her book appearance. A handy little timeline for you:**

 **/**

 **TLOS 1**

 **Seventh grade starts, this story begins**

 **TLOS 2**

 **Alex moves to the Land of Stories**

 **Eighth grade starts**

 **TLOS 3**

 **Conner moves to the Land of Stories**

 **TLOS 4 starts**

 **Ninth grade starts (aka. Freshman year)**

 **TLOS 4 ends**

 **TLOS 5**

 **TLOS 6**

 **Conner returns to school**

 **/**

 **Fifthly, to those who guessed "obsession" in the last chapter, you are correct! The first letter of each sentence spells out "obsession".**

 **Sixthly** **, this is canon to my other works _Resist, The 5 Times Bree Caught Conner Looking At Her_ and _I'm A Writer._ About everything except _7 Days._**

 **I think that's it! Please read and review! Thanks! :D**

 **8/10/2017**


	3. Chapter 2: Two Heads Are Better Than One

**Disclaimer: I don't anything you recognize. Also, just in case someone thinks otherwise, Alex is not going to be shipped with an OC (even though I don't like Alex X Rook or Alex X Arthur). The only canon character that might be hinted to be shipped with an OC is Emmerich. But that kid's like ten, so it won't be an actual ship lol.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Two Heads Are Better Than One

Alex had always thought she and Conner were very different people. Sometimes she wondered how could they have the same parents. Alex would go as far to say they were opposites, like how she was comparably sane and Conner was… well, a bit crazy.

Not in a bad way though. His ideas were bizarre and creative, but strange enough, most of them worked. As Conner always proclaimed, "Being crazy is a part of being awesome!", Alex always laughed at his jokes but never hesitated to scold him for his childish actions. Alex secretly appreciated his creativity, seeing she could never think out of the box like he did.

But _this_ was crossing a line.

Alex frowned as she saw her brother nearly face plant a wall for the fourth time in the day. And it was only lunch break. He didn't seem to mind though, and just walked away with a dreamy look on his face.

Alex also noticed for some reason he finally woke up on time lately, _did homework without being told to,_ and started bumping into things or people. He also looked like he was in a daze, but sometimes, he could be very productive.

All this happened around the time of their birthday. At first, Alex thought Conner was only excited because they were finally teenagers. But when this "excitement" lasted for more than a week, Alex began to get suspicious.

Sure, she was happy that her brother seemed to turn over a new leaf, but he had been so not like himself. He was quieter and immersed in his own thoughts, and stopped asking random questions about whatever that came to his mind. Also, when Alex asked Conner what was going on, he just shrugged.

Weird.

Alex, having enough, searched for Fred, Conner's best friend, in the noisy cafeteria. The boy had known Conner almost as long as Alex knew her twin, so maybe he knew something she didn't know. Not mention, it could be kind of a boy thing?

Alex knew her mother was none the wiser, because her mom had asked her about Conner too. So, Fred was most likely one Conner would confide in.

Fred was standing next to Conner, talking animatedly to him, but Conner looked like he wasn't listening. He scanned the area anxiously as if he was searching for someone. Annoyed, Fred jabbed Conner with his elbow. A bit dazed, Conner turned back and stared at his best friend as if he just realized he was there.

"Have you even been listening to what I said?" Fred asked, running a hand through his hair as a band of girls passed by them. He was fairly popular with the female population of the school due to his looks and athletic ability. It was only September but there were already rumours about this girl who had developed an instant crush on him. Fred claimed it was total rubbish but secretly inside, he felt rather accomplished.

"U-uh no?" Conner squeaked, looking terrified for some reason. Fred stared at him. Fred had no idea Bree had just passed behind him and due to Conner's crush, he was a nervous wreck every time he saw her. "I did catch snippets of what you said… something about History? Red hair? Stupid girls? Sorry, I was a bit distracted."

Fred raised one of his eyebrows so high it almost disappeared. It wasn't the first time Conner spaced out. Fred knew something was going on with Conner, but he didn't know what. Sometimes he acted like a hyper puppy, sometimes a stuttering idiot, sometimes highly exaggerating his actions.

"Freddie, I need to talk to you about something."

The boy whirled around, surprised to see Alex standing there with a determined expression on her face. "Eeeeuuuh Alex?"

Since Fred basically grew up with Conner, he was quite familiar with his sister Alex too. They used to play together when they were little but now Alex seemed to be too occupied with school work to talk to anyone except for her brother.

Alex's determined blue eyes pierced through Fred in a very-Mrs-Peters-way. Then without any warning, she suddenly grabbed his wrist and dragged him away. "See you later Conner!" she called over her shoulder.

Conner just stared in disbelief and shock, wondering what was going on.

Alex and Fred walked through the crowd. The boy tried to free his hand from Alex, but her grip was like a pincer. He groaned, but suddenly something came to his mind. What if Alex liked him and wanted to confess to him? Hell no! Conner would slaughter him for breaking the bro code. Correction: he wouldn't just slaughter him, he would push Fred into a pond with crocodiles, then drag him out and hang him on a tree by his ankle, then force him to step on Lego bricks.

Fred shuddered at the thought of the last punishment.

"Okay what's going on?" he asked, beginning to get slightly annoyed.

Alex sighed. "Did you notice something weird about Conner lately?"

Fred blinked. "Yeah, he always seem to space out when I talk to him. And he gets even clumsier than usual. Do you know what happened to him?"

"No," Alex replied, biting her lip while she thought. "That was what I wanted to ask you about."

"Do you have any ideas?" Fred asked.

Alex gave him a pointed look, then pulled out a small notepad from her jacket pocket. "Here," she said, handing the notepad to the other boy.

* * *

"Uhh guys?" Conner called after his sister and Fred after they had mysteriously decided to ditch him. He raised one eyebrow comically. "Whatever." He muttered.

Conner walked to his usual bench where his bunch of rowdy mates sat.

"Hey dude!" they chorused, welcoming the boy.

"Where's Freddie?" someone asked.

Conner shrugged. "I dunno." The boys started chattering noisily about soccer tryouts, basketball team tryouts, and so on. Conner wasn't a total fan of sports, the only reason he even ran was either because he was in a hurry or in the Land of Stories.

You run a lot in the Land of Stories. Conner and Alex learnt that firsthand.

After talking for a couple of minutes and Fred being still missing, Conner decided to look for him.

He weaved through the benches, eyes searching for a familiar blond head. He also assumed Fred was with Alex, so he searched for Alex too.

"Hey!" Fred suddenly popped out from nowhere. He waved a hand in front of Conner. "Hello, I'm back!"

"Where have you been with Alex?" Conner asked, glaring at Fred.

"Uhh… nowhere!" Fred answered simply. He pushed Conner. "C'mon, let's go back, I'm starving."

Conner gave him a weird look, but decided not to ask him anything else.

* * *

" _You think he's on drugs?!_ " Fred had yelled loudly during his conversation with Alex.

Alex crossed her arms. " _It was just a suspicion! These are just ideas!"_

Fred scanned the words Alex wrote on the notepad. " _Most of them are just ridiculous._ " He snorted.

" _This is what I propose._ " Alex said. " _We should find concrete evidence that my brother is behaving weirdly. Then we start to ask what he is up to._ "

" _But we already know he's strange._ " Fred whispered back.

" _It isn't fair to suspect someone without real evidence._ " Alex said.

" _Fine._ " Fred agreed. " _So we stalk him?_ "

Alex held her chin in thought. " _I will observe him at home. You will observe him at school. Then we'll see whether he acts weirder at school or at home. After all, two heads are better than one._ "

Fred sighed. " _Since it's you, I bet we're going to make reports about what he did, when did he do that and stuff, right?_ "

Alex nodded, surveying the boy with a serious look. " _You know me too well, Freddie._ "

* * *

Alex was really determined to find out the truth about her brother. They returned home together after school. Conner was rambling about a particularly annoying teacher. Alex pretended to listen, nodding at the right times while she thought of something else.

"So, uh, did anything strange happen in school today?" Alex tried to ask him.

"Well yeah, somebody had a glowing book and then a bird flew out of the book and then I fell headfirst into the Land of Stories," Conner answered sarcastically. "Nope, nothing special."

"Oh!" Alex replied, pretending to be surprised. "I thought something was up as you kept face palming walls."

"That's because I'm clumsy. I thought you knew that."

"You seem clumsier than usual, Conner."

"Well," Conner shrugged his shoulders, but didn't say anything else. Alex found that even more suspicious.

"I also noticed that you space out more at school. Are you okay?" Alex placed her hand on Conner's forehead in concern. Conner rolled his eyes, but didn't throw his sister's hand off.

"I'm fine Alex. No worries."

Alex removed her hand from Conner, seeing there was nothing unusual about his physical state. Actually, Conner was his normal self now, interacting and talking as he always did. Because of that, the thing that caused Conner to act strangely was at school, not at home.

 _That's perfect,_ Alex thought, eyes trained on the pavement in front of her as the gears in her brain began to turn. _With my observations at home, and Freddie's observations at school, we can have a comparison. It's almost like a control experiment, except it's not really an experiment…_

"Alex? Stop trying to burn a hole in the road." Conner said, seeing his sister's serious expression. He ruffled her hair in an effort to lighten her up.

 _Well, he's all normal now,_ Alex thought, giggling as she tried to ruffle his hair in return.

"You know, I almost don't mind if I burn a hole using my eyes," Alex commented.

"Wow, I never knew you were into world destruction." Conner teased his sister.

Alex sighed, her sunny expression darkening a bit. "I want to prove that I have magic in my blood, then maybe we'll find a way into the Land of Stories again."

Conner shoved his hands in his pockets, a distant look in his eyes. He appeared to be thinking deeply, and as if making up his mind, he turned to Alex. "Hey-"

Unfortunately for the boy, Alex had been too thinking of starting a conversation at that moment. "I've been thinking about joining one of those classes in the next town."

"Ohh, the one for gifted students or something?" Conner thought out loud.

An embarrassed blush rose on Alex's cheeks. "Well yeah, if we have enough money that is. I don't want to burden Mom."

"Our situation now is already so much better than our situation a year ago," Conner stared straight at the cornflower blue sky, as an image of his father popped into his mind. He remembered that day when he and Alex had been walking home over a year ago, and saw that their beautiful old house had been sold. To lighten the mood, Conner said, "You're my smart sister. You'll solve every problem we face."

"Well," Alex smiled. "You're my cheerful brother. You'll bring light to any situation."

Laughing and joking, the twins continued their way home, which didn't seem as long as usual.

 _Report #1_

 _Observer: Alex Bailey_

 _Target: Conner Bailey_

 _Time: After school, at around four_

 _Place: During the road back home_

 _Notes: Nothing special. Target seems oblivious to his actions at school, and doesn't act weird._

* * *

The next day, Fred and Conner shared the same first period, which was Maths. They were both yawning and complaining about their amount of homework as usual. Alex walked quietly next to them, mouthing the keywords she was revising for the test next week.

"Bye Alex," Conner called as he and Fred turned into a classroom.

"Bye," Alex waved to the two boys. After they disappeared from view, Alex continued to her own class, feeling slightly lonely without the company of her friends.

 _I'll visit the library today,_ Alex decided. But then, something came up in her head. _Oh yeah, Fred will do his first observation today. I wonder what he'll get._

Fred, remembering the responsibility he had, narrowed his grey eyes. He peered intently at his best friend, who was chatting loudly with other classmates. Nothing out of place.

In the lesson, Conner was trying really hard to stay awake, and he almost fell asleep at times, only for a rough push from Fred to wake him up. Eventually, around the middle of the lesson, Conner was conscious enough to think about the questions the teacher had assigned them. Because he hadn't been paying attention, he had to ask Fred for answers.

Around the end of the lesson, Fred noticed that the strawberry blond next to him had began to doodle. When he craned his neck in an effort to see what he drew, Conner would cover his drawings with a hand, and say "what?" defensively.

Fred gave him a weird look. "What?" he mimicked, before returning to the lesson. Underneath his textbook, Fred took out a piece of paper and began to write something on it. Conner was too busy drawing to be aware of Fred.

 _Report #2_

 _Observer: Fred Hayford_

 _Target: Conner Bailey_

 _Time: 1st period (Maths), around nine a.m._

 _Place: Classroom_

 _Notes: Target is normal for most of the lesson, but towards the end he began to draw, and not let anyone see what he drew._

The bell rang shrilly, and the students rose up slowly like zombies and said goodbye to their teacher in a monotone. After all, being the first lesson of the day, nobody had enough energy to focus on the class. Fred stuffed the paper in a file and sandwiched it between two textbooks to hide it. Everyone began to shuffle out of the classroom to their next class.

Conner put a hand over his mouth to stifle his yawn. "That was boring."

"Yeah, that was so boring," Fred exclaimed immediately. As the two walked down the corridor, they noticed girls whispering and gossiping, shooting furtive glances at Fred.

"What's happening?" a bemused Conner asked.

Fred ran a hand through his spiky hair. "Rumours, Conner." Seeing that a girl nearby had been staring at him, he gave her a little wave before going on his way.

"Ohhhh," Conner turned to with Fred a self-satisfied grin. " _Her_." The boy nodded dramatically as if he understood everything.

Fred hit him. "Stop acting all knowledgeable and wise."

Suddenly, a girl with reddish brown hair was pushed through the crowd, and a high pitched scream came from the watching girls. The girl glared at the people behind her with a hateful stare, cheeks flaming to match her hair.

"Confess!" somebody hollered, and as if on the same waveline, everybody began to chant, "Confess! CONFESS!" Eyes alight, they stared at the redhead, hungry for some juicy gossip.

"Wait!" the girl yelled at the crowd, shoulder length hair swaying in her anger. "I- I don't even _like_ him! What the heck is wrong with you all?"

"Ooooh," the audience said helpfully. Fred gave a Conner a helpless glance, who just shrugged.

The girl continued to glare at the surrounding people, never meeting Fred's eyes. After a few seconds of hushed whispering, the chants of "confess!" rang through the corridor again.

The boys were beginning to be annoyed, not because they would be late for their lessons, but because everyone was laughing and watching them as if they were some entertainment show.

The girl clicked her tongue impatiently, desperate to escape from the scene. She caught sight of someone she knew, who was standing on the sidelines and observing the incident quietly.

"Bree!" she cried, attracting her friend's attention. Bree had been watching the whole thing, somewhat amused by this silly setup for a confession. "Help me!" the ginger called out to Bree.

 _Bree?_ Conner thought, excitement jolting through his spine. He whipped his head towards the girl, and his heart began to beat furiously like a Conga drum. That day, she was wearing a grey shirt and a navy blue jacket was tied around her waist. Despite her rather simple outfit, Conner felt his eyes being glued to her. Being aware that he was behaving very creepily, he looked away, and scolded himself.

Bree crossed her arms, small smirk on her face. She mock sighed, and said evenly, "Well, I don't know about that, Danielle. After all, you got yourself in this mess."

The girl called Danielle huffed, before forcefully pushing her way through the crowd and went away, all without even looking at Fred's direction.

"So _that's_ taken care of," Fred commented. After approximately four seconds, Conner replied with a simple "hmm".

"Dude?" Fred nudged him with his shoulder. And that was when he saw that starry, yet blank look in Conner's blue eyes, and his rigid posture.

 _Here we go again,_ Fred narrated in a monotone internally. He would have asked him some questions, but seeing that they were going to be _seriously_ late for their respective classes, he managed a "see ya" before going off.

Once he arrived in his classroom (thankfully the teacher wasn't there yet), Fred immediately took out the piece of paper he had written his report on, and added a few more lines.

 _Report #3_

 _Observer: Freddie :)_

 _Target: my bro (aka. Conner)_

 _Time: the time between first and second period_

 _Place: school corridor_

 _Notes: spaced out suddenly? That happened after someone tried to force a girl to confess to me._

* * *

At lunch, the boys complained about their teachers loudly, and sat in the middle of the cafeteria.

"This sucks!" Fred yelled loudly upon seeing the school lunch, which included a strange slop of something and a dry drumstick that looked like all the water had been drained from it. The other boys muttered their agreements.

"At least we have chocolate chip cookies," Conner said, poking at his cookie and checking whether it was a raisin cookie or a chocolate chip cookie. "That's about the only edible thing on this tray."

"But still, I'm famished," a boy said, and they all dug in. Even if the lunch didn't taste good, it was their only source of food and energy. As they ate, they chatted about recent events, most notably the Danielle Rowland incident that happened on that day in the hallway. They all teased Fred about it, and saying things like "dude, you got yourself a girl". After a while, Fred managed to change the topic.

"What lessons do you have next?" Fred asked after a long drink of water.

"Hmm, I think it's Social Studies," another boy replied. "Yours, Freddie?"

Fred stared at his tray, thinking about his response, before nodding. "Science? Yeah, I think so."

"I got English!" Conner announced with an unusually cheerful voice. Everybody else quieted down and stared at him. Ignoring the looks, Conner stuffed half of a cookie in his mouth.

"Wha?" he asked, cookie crumbs spraying out. They continued to be frozen, all eyes on Conner. A few awkward seconds passed, the only sound being Conner's chewing.

Well, Conner was a rather cheerful and optimistic person, he was just never excited for classes or for school. And that was why everybody thought it was shocking.

"I might be mistaken, but…" a boy brandished a fork. " _The_ Conner Bailey sounding excited for _English_ class?"

Next to Conner, Fred frowned. Was that something report-worthy? Or had Conner secretly liked English all along? As far as he knew, Conner never had anything special with English. He didn't really like it, nor did he despise it.

Conner opened his mouth to speak, but more cookie crumbs just tumbled out. After a frantic chew, he swallowed and said, "Me? Excited? I don't sound excited."

"Yes, you do," most of the table said in unison as reply, except for two kids who were having a heated debate about a soccer match that had been on television last night. They didn't even realize the rest of the table had been talking about something that completely different.

"Well, umm, okay," Conner, seeing that he stood out like a sore thumb, drank some water in hope of that telling everyone that the conversation was over. When he finished drinking, the boys were discussing about Conner's apparent sudden interest in English among themselves.

"Umm, maybe it's my sister's influence?" Conner tried to laugh and come up with an explanation. To tell the truth, he only knew that Bree Campbell was in his English class and that somehow made him anticipate that class. "Y'know, she's a bookworm and all that. Might have rubbed onto me."

The boys gave him a peculiar look. "If your sister has an influence on you, your interest in language would have showed _way_ earlier."

"Yeah," the others all muttered in reply. Fred furrowed his eyebrows. He knew Conner was a terrible liar, but because he was such a good friend, he decided to save him from more questioning for now.

"But, it kind of makes sense." Fred offered, attracting everyone else's attention. Gulping, Fred began his (somewhat far-fetched) explanation.

"I mean, Conner's never been a logical person (this earnt a slight glare from Conner), and he isn't too keen on subjects like Social Studies, so maybe he's taken a liking to language. After all, he _has_ to like something."

"I like art," Conner piped up.

"Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but art's not really a major subject. But English is."

"I guess that makes sense," the boys nodded and to Conner's relief, they returned to their usual conversation.

Conner wasn't even sure why he was so anxious. Moodily shoving some food into his mouth (if it could be called "food"), the boy knew it wasn't over. Fred suspected something was up, and Conner could feel his friend's grey eyes observing him intently.

For the first time, Conner was kind of glad that he and Fred didn't have the same lesson after lunch. He wasn't sure what to reply if Fred asked him why he was excited about English. Or, maybe, he could let it slip past. After all, it wasn't something of major importance.

The only thing that Conner was sure of was that he liked English class because a certain someone was in it, and that certain _girl_ could only be seen in that class. And it would be embarrassing to admit that.

Fred suddenly stood up, the sound breaking Conner away from his thoughts. "Gonna throw some rubbish away," he said.

"Did you mean to throw yourself in the bin?" a boy suggested jokingly.

As Fred walked away, the boy thought about the strange things Conner had been doing. He reached the rubbish bin, but instead of tossing something in it, he did a ninety degrees turn and walked to one of the benches, where Alex was eating on her own. He slid the folder containing his reports to Alex. The girl looked up from her meal.

"Thanks," she said shortly, taking the folder and putting it between two textbooks that were on the table next to her.

"Do you know anything about Conner liking English?" the blond asked. Alex was a bit surprised by his question, but answered honestly, "I don't really know. He's never taken an interest in a subject that requires studying."

"Apparently he sounded excited for English class, and said it was your influence."

Alex looked at Fred. "That makes sense, but…" her voice trailed off. Fred knew that both of them didn't believe in what Conner had said.

"Never mind. I'll ask him later." Alex decided, secretly pleased that her lazy brother seemed to be taking a liking to a subject. "Bye for now."

"Bye," Fred replied, and went back to his bench. Nobody suspected him of talking to Alex (or anyone for that matter), and all was well.

However, a few benches away, things were not _all_ well.

"Dani, you jealous?" a girl teased slightly, seeing the blond boy walking away from Alex. Danielle's face turned pink.

"As if!" she yelled defensively, but that just arose much more suspicion. Everybody sitting with her for lunch, including Bree, raised an eyebrow.

"Oooh, never think he'll go for a bookworm," another girl commented, twirling her brown hair between her fingers.

Bree sighed internally. "Well," she began, looking like she was about to give a presentation. "Fred is one of Conner Bailey's best friends as I've heard, and Alex is Conner's sister, so it's not much of a surprise that they're close." Bree let out a breath as she finished explaining to her friends.

"I suppose so."

"Yeah, but that doesn't affect Dani's little crush on Fred."

Danielle breathed in and out through her nose, cheeks as red as a tomato. "I. Do. Not. Like. Fred. Hayford," she stated, pronouncing each word clearly and slowly, as if she was talking to a bunch of three year olds. "I don't know where those rumours come from, but like most rumours, it's _fake._ So stop shipping me with someone I have only known for a month." She stopped speaking, and resumed spooning food to her mouth.

"Oh… okay…" the girls mumbled, evidently disappointed at the lack of gossip. Bree decided it was time to stand up for Danielle.

"Girls, I think it's unreasonable to force romantic relationships out of people," Bree said plainly, turning to her friends. "Just because two people are close together, that doesn't mean they are dating or whatever. Respect other people and their relationships."

There was a short pause as everyone stared at Bree. The silence was broken with an "amen" muttered from Danielle.

Bree knew everybody was seeing her as a weirdo, but she wasn't affected by it. Shrugging her shoulders, Bree added, "Just saying," and resumed eating. The rest of the table soon followed.

* * *

After lunch bell rang, the students filed slowly into their respective classrooms, sleepy after having lunch. Ms. York, Conner and Bree's English teacher, knew all about that, so she came up with a little game to spice things up, and to attract her students' attention.

Facing her listless students, she announced, "Let's play a game!"

Nobody treated her seriously, because they had all heard of another English teacher who hosted "memory games", which were just sugar-coated versions of dictations.

Ms. York walked over the computer and typed in a link to a certain website. Then, she turned on the projector, displaying the website on the screen.

The class blinked as they saw the familiar words "Kahoot!" make their way on the screen. When the information processed through their drowsy brains, they sat up, suddenly energetic.

 _Kahoot!_ Bree thought, a rare shiver of excitement passing through her. Despite that it may sound childish, she actually loved the game. She used to get first places when the game was played in elementary school. The excitement and thrill she felt when competing with other classmates, the rollercoaster emotions when her ranking went up and down, plus the spark and tension in the air, it was really a nice break from boring lessons. At least, it was to Bree.

Kahoot was an application for multiple-choice questions. The questions would be set by the teacher and displayed on the screen, with the answers in distinctive colours and shapes below. The students would use their electronic devices to answer the questions. The fastest correct answer would get a lot of marks, and Kahoot had a ranking system which, in the end, only displayed the top five scores.

Conner could feel the atmosphere change from a dry, stuffy one to one filled with buzz. As a result, he got even more excited. Sneaking a look to Bree, he could see something alight in her pretty brown eyes. Conner felt his heart skip a beat; he had never seen her like that before.

Conner had always gotten the last few places in any Kahoot game, the only exception being when he teamed up with Alex. He didn't mind though, it was a fun game, and it was probably his favourite part of the lesson.

"This Kahoot is about the text we had learned last lesson," Ms. York said, pleased at her students' reaction to the game. "You will be playing with a partner."

 _Oh,_ Bree thought, her high spirits lowering a little. She hoped her partner wasn't a complete dumbass, because that would drag her ranking down. And Bree got oddly competitive when she played Kahoot.

Conner was sure that his time at school couldn't get any better (Kahoot day, English class and seeing Bree), but miraculously, it _did._

He was paired up with Bree.

 _YES!_ Conner screamed internally, biting his lip to stop it from stretching into a wide grin. As the message sunk it, fear and nervousness suddenly began to form in the pit of his stomach. What if he screwed up? What if he screwed up so badly that Bree would hate him forever? Or what if he somehow managed to impress her with his (somewhat bad) Kahoot skills? And why did he care about what she thought about him?

Taking his books, Conner moved to the seat next to Bree's, his heart thumping. He carefully sat down next to his goddess, as if Bree was an easily fragile object that would be broken by a mere touch. Conner couldn't meet Bree's eyes, and stared at the desk in front of him, while thousands of thoughts swarm into his mind wildly, overwhelming him.

 _Him,_ Bree studied the boy. His reddish brownish hair was neater (his hair had been comparatively tidier than when she first saw him during the early days of September), he didn't look sleepy, but he wasn't talking to her. Bree could also see the baby fat on his cheeks, which gave him a considerable childish look. However, as Bree knew, she shouldn't judge people by their looks. Which was what she had exactly been doing with this boy called Conner Bailey.

When she first saw him, she felt a little weird. The best way to describe that was a feeling that she had somehow known him before. Bree had shrugged it off; maybe it was déjà vu (whom she knew had scientific explanations), or she had really seen him before (they didn't live too far away). But what was really peculiar was that whether they were in the same room, Bree felt conscious of him. She didn't feel anything special towards the boy himself at first, be it his personality or qualities, but rather the vibe that seemed to radiate off him.

At first, Bree thought it was charisma, as she knew Conner was fairly popular. But as she noticed, her friends didn't seem to be affected by his presumed "charisma", choosing the talk about other "cuter" boys like Fred. Moreover, Bree didn't think it was charismatic that Conner kept hitting walls and tripping over thin air.

So what was it?

Bree had no clue.

From the resident hopeless romantics (also known as Bree's three sisters), Bree learnt about stories such as "soulmates", "reincarnated lovers", or "the red string of fate". For some reason, they all had a romantic element in them, but Bree knew it wasn't like that. She had zero romantic feelings towards Conner.

So why?

Bree decided to investigate. She knew she paid attention to Conner subconsciously, so maybe if she knew more about him, she would know the reason why.

Deep inside, the girl knew there was something strange about Conner. She felt it in her instincts. But so far, on the surface, he seemed normal.

Bree also noticed that he kept hitting stuff and doing clumsy actions whenever she saw him. And then the girl thought, _if I keep being drawn to him, why don't I try to actually know more about him inside, instead of always focusing on the mystery?_

And that was why she began to silently observe him.

That was why he made an impression on her.

That was why Bree didn't like him a lot at first, because she thought the boy made a fool of himself.

"Did you study the text?" Bree asked casually as she put on her jacket. She was beginning to get cold.

"I tried to," Conner replied in all honesty.

 _So it's on me,_ Bree thought grimly. However, on the outside, she said, "Let's give it all we have."

"Okay." Conner allowed himself to smile, despite the butterflies in his stomach. He was on a team with Bree! That made him really happy.

Bree stared at the screen, drumming her fingers against the desk. Conner noted the smirk on the girl's face, and felt a chill go down his spine. Boy, she took this game seriously. Conner also looked at the screen in anticipation, determined not to disappoint.

The first question popped up, and two seconds later Bree tapped on the red box. Conner was amazed by her speed, and Bree rubbed her hands together.

"Were you _tooooooo_ fast?" Conner grinned teasingly, mimicking the messages that would appear on the screen after they submitted the answer. Bree exhaled, shooting a quick look at her partner. "I'm certain we got it right."

"We're in rank three!" the boy gasped as the results came out. Bree allowed herself to be satisfied that they were in the top 5. They were good, but not good enough. But Bree was certain they would catch up.

Bree answered the second, third, fourth and fifth questions swiftly. They were all correct, and beginning from the second question, they took the lead.

"Woohoo!" Conner yelled energetically. Feeling triumphant, Bree continued to drum her fingers, the taps getting more fervent.

 _He better do something or else I'll answer every question there is. I've already answered five out of the ten questions._

But, as the sixth question made its appearance, Bree had to think for a few seconds to remember. By the time she did, Conner had already answered, to Bree's shock.

"What did you answer?" she immediately interrogated him. Anxiety seized her stomach, and Bree could feel her heart rate going higher and higher. _If he answers wrongly and our ranking drops, I'll-_

"Uh, the yellow one?" Conner peeped, a bit afraid of the scary vibe coming out from the girl. "I think it's correct?"

Bree looked at the screen, then back at Conner. She calmed down, and said, "I got the same answer too."

The results appeared, and the duo were relieved to see that they were still in first place, and had a massive lead.

Conner reclined in his chair, giving Bree a lazy smile. "I can do something too, Bree." The moment her name left his lips, a warm yet electrifying feeling spread from Conner's body down to his toes.

Bree smiled back. _Why do I keep judging people by first impressions?_ "I'll give you credit. Now on to the next one!" she said determinedly.

Conner had never seen the girl so into something. It was a bit endearing and refreshing to see her that way.

Together, they answered the questions. Sometimes Bree pressed the button, sometimes Conner. When one forgot about something, the other would remind them. At the end, both teens had very high spirits, cheering when the final ranking was revealed. They were in the first place, which was new for Conner, but the usual for Bree.

"Yeah!" Conner cried passionately. Bree smiled modestly at the classmates that were staring at her and Conner with envy.

"Hi five!" Bree said, holding up her palm, brown eyes glittering.

"Hi five!" Conner returned, the impact of their hands hitting making a loud "smack!". Both of their faces glowed alight with excitement and accomplishment. Conner was particularly ecstatic, because that was the first time he ever made physical contact with Bree, which seemed like a moment to remember.

"Congratulations to the top five teams!" Ms. York said. "Now, we'll move on to…"

After school, Conner was, oddly enough, still very excited. He hummed a tune and skipped along the path.

"Umm, what?" Fred uttered lowly when he saw his friend's elated expression.

Alex slid next to him, biting her lip as she observed. "He's going to get questions when we come home."

Little did they know, there were _three_ pairs of eyes looking at Conner. In a corner, Bree watched the boy, wondering what was up with him.

"Is he okay?" Fred whispered to Alex. The girl shrugged, aqua eyes never leaving her brother.

Fred walked up to Conner, Alex following him, and clapped a hand on his back. "Dude! Why so happy?"

Conner turned to them. "I won a Kahoot game!" he grinned.

"Uh, okay. Congrats," Fred and Alex said. They both understood that feeling one would have when they won a round of Kahoot. So Conner was naturally happy.

But Alex remembered one time in sixth grade, she and Conner had won a Kahoot game together. She remembered that he couldn't stop talking about it, and bragged about it to their mother. Now, he seemed more like in a daze than his usual, chatty self.

"Conner, you know you have a test two days from now, right?" Alex reminded him an attempt to sober him up.

 _Wow, remembering even your brother's test schedule. That's Alex for you,_ Fred thought in amazement.

"So?" Conner replied, the same starry look in his eyes. "I'll just study for it."

At that exact moment, both Alex and Fred's jaw dropped.

 _Conner Bailey… studying?!_

That was the same thought that immediately came to their minds.

Alex whipped her head towards Fred, and saw that he had done the same. Their serious stares met, conveying the same message.

 _We need to find out what's up with Conner. Now._

* * *

 **A/N: Since I am not a boy, the interactions between the boys might be kind of awkward.** _ **Yup.**_

 **Also if someone I know in real life is reading this, you'll find out lots of stuff are based from the teachers and experiences in my school. Kahoot is an example, and my partner and I once got 1st place in a Kahoot game :D That was the happiest moment of the day.**

 **Thank you so much your kind reviews! They keep me going! :)**

 **Some promotion here: I have posted my drawings of characters from this fic, and an original story, to Wattpad. My username there is the same here, so you can search for it. Or you can go to my profile and click on the link and see if it works. If anyone is interested, you can check it out!**

 **Thanks for your support! Please read and review!**

 **22/10/2017**


	4. Chapter 3: You On Sugar High?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 3: You on Sugar High?

Two voices.

He stopped walking.

Hushed whispers.

His eyebrow raised.

His name being mentioned.

He clenched his fist and strode forward.

"What the _heck_ are you two talking about?"

A sheepish Fred and Alex looked at Conner, who had just barged into their conversation. Their expressions turned slightly guilty, before they immediately covered it up.

"Nothing," Alex and Fred answered in unison.

Obviously, Conner didn't believe them.

"You two have been talking behind my back for days already! You guys are suspicious! Just what are you talking about?" the boy exclaimed.

Fred looked nervously at Alex, but fortunately for him, she had a backup plan.

"Oh, I was teaching Freddie," Alex said innocently.

"About what?" Conner interrogated, determined to get to the bottom of that.

"Science," Alex answered.

Fred's weak spot was indeed Science, and the boy was both surprised and amazed that Alex had managed to remember not only her brother's weak subjects, but also his friend's.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Fred piped up. "After all, Alex's really good in a lot of subjects, so I wanted to ask her about them."

"So what's with all the whispering?" Conner wasn't giving up so easily.

"She doesn't want everyone to know, because she doesn't want to organize a tutoring class." This time, Fred took the lead, smoothly continuing Alex's lie.

"All that whispering around _me_ , then?"

Alex and Fred shared a nervous glance. "Uh, I thought you might be one of those 'other people' who might bombard me with questions," Alex offered.

Conner looked like he was about to fire some more questions, as his sister and best friend waited with bated breath for his next move.

"Seems funny that you don't teach me, Alex," Conner directed that at his sister. Alex sighed in relief internally, glad that the topic had been changed.

"Well, I will, if you ask me. You need to realize that you need to improve your grades, instead of me taking care of you all the time," Alex replied, pushing her headband back to keep her hair from her face.

"Okay," Conner still looked slightly suspicious of them, but let it go. "You guys are weird."

After the boy went away, Fred hissed to Alex, " _He's_ the one who's weird."

Alex had to agree. After his Kahoot game victory, Conner had been super hyper, yet it seemed like he was in a dreamlike daze. Sometimes he could hardly stay still, and because of the size of their rental house, Conner couldn't exactly use up his excess energy in the house. He offered to buy groceries as an excuse to go out, and Alex accompanied him, partly because she thought he might get into trouble, and partly because she wanted to know the cause for his over excitement.

Fred passed Alex a folder with sheets of paper in it. "That's my observation for Maths today. I'll do the next one after this lunch break," he told her.

"Thanks," Alex took it and swept an eye over its contents.

"It's been a week, and we still haven't figured something out," Fred muttered, afraid that their efforts might be in vain.

"Don't worry," Alex said, positive. "Maybe something will come to our minds later."

"I hope so, Alex."

* * *

With his hands in his pockets, Conner strode out, while a furious rant began in his mind.

 _Why do they hide from me?_ Conner thought, the chatter of his fellow students becoming white noise as his footsteps thudded forward. _It's so strange._

Little did he know, at least three people thought Conner himself was behaving in a strange way. Bree had been doing some observations of her own, although unlike Alex, she wasn't so hardcore and didn't write everything down.

Conner's inner ranting gradually skidded to a stop. Conner, who felt like he needed to blow off some steam, itched for something he could talk angrily about. However, every time he tried to make himself angry, something else popped into his mind.

Something that had been appearing in his mind quite frequently.

The memory of him hi-fiving Bree came back to his mind's eye, and Conner felt his lips quirk up automatically. A small bud of happiness blossomed in his chest.

For some reason, it felt like their high five was imprinted in his hand. Conner thought it was like one of those pillows where you push your hand in it and the shape of your hand remains. He hummed happily and shoved his hands in his pockets.

However, Conner was also mystified at the fact that certain memory kept coming back. He shook his head, trying to clear away the fuzziness in his heart.

Not to mention, the problem with Alex and Fred was rather bothering Conner. As they were his two closest friends in the school, Conner somehow felt like he was being left out by their chit chat. And he didn't like that.

Conner had a lot of friends. Despite that, he could grow attached to those closest to him. Both Fred and Alex had been with been Conner for most of his life, and Conner didn't want to let them go.

And he also was a bit annoyed about Fred moving closer to Alex. The "protective brother" part of Conner began to emerge. He knew it was inevitable that boys would soon go after his gorgeous, smart sister, and by the time that happened, Conner hoped he would have grown a ton muscles and looked really threatening.

" _Rwarrrr,"_ Tough Conner would say, flexing his impressive muscles.

" _Eeep!"_ Random-boy-that-should-go-away would say, cowering in a corner. " _I- I just want to ask if-"_

" _YOU SHALL NOT PASS!"_ Tough Conner would roar, a mean glint in his eye as his body magically increased in size and height-

A flash of familiar blonde hair.

Blinking, Conner was broken out of his fantasy of his future self, as something else grabbed his attention.

"Hey!" Bree cried crossly, reaching for her beanie which was held in her taller friend's hand. "Give that back!"

"Geez, you're so attached to your beanie," the friend teased, watching in amusement as Bree hoped around desperately, ponytail swishing. "I wonder what'll happen if I throw it away-"

In a second, Bree's entire demeanor changed, and her friends all felt the cold vibe that radiated off her. A icy glint appeared in her brown eyes, and she lifted her head to directly stare at her friend.

 _Oh, crap,_ Danielle thought, although she was rather enjoying the spectacle. _Bree's gone into the assassin mode._

Bree gave a chilling laugh, as the corners of her lips quirked up to form a smirk. "Oh, _you'll dare to do that_?" she asked dangerously.

"Umm…"

Bree took a step closer, the same unwavering look in her eyes. "Just for your information, I read quite a lot of murder mysteries…" she trailed off. Her eyes darkened and a gust of wind blew past, strands of her hair fluttering, and (in Conner's opinion) that made her look like a badass movie heroine.

Meanwhile, Conner stood there, dumbfounded. He couldn't move, let only speak. The only thing going on in his mind was _she's so cool oh my gosh she is so cool Bree Campbell is the coolest person ever way cooler than I'll ever be ahhh._

"Okay fine! Have your beanie!" With an exasperated sigh, the purple beanie was tossed back to Bree. Bree grinned and fixed it on her head. She became cheerful again, all traces of her previous anger gone.

"What is it with you and your hat?" Danielle sighed, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt.

"It's like the thing going on between you and Freddie," the Tall Girl teased (Conner didn't know her name). " _Looove._ "

Conner was still stupefied when somebody suddenly smacked his back, followed by a loud "dude!". The boy didn't even have to turn around to know who it was.

"Hey, Freddie," Conner greeted in a neutral tone.

"Hey," Fred said, as the girls (save for Bree and Danielle) gasped and gestured at him. Danielle ducked behind Bree in an attempt to shield herself. Bree sighed internally but obliged.

"Don't call me Freddie, okay?" The blond spun to them and said. "I know you all love me (the girls squealed while Conner made a loud vomiting noise) but that's a nickname for close friends and family only. Kay?"

"What do you mean by 'close friends'?" a girl asked curiously.

Fred jabbed a finger at Conner, finger poking at his forehead. Conner tried to take his arm away half-heartedly, but gave up, knowing Fred wouldn't let go. "This idiot right here is an example."

 _An idiot all right,_ Bree thought, seeing that Conner's expression had turned weird again. She shot him a brief look, but he seemed determined to avoid her eyes.

Bree theorized that Conner was hiding something, and he knew she was onto something, so he tried even harder to hide whatever from her. After all, he seemed to trip over himself and smash into walls when she was around, which meant he was nervous around her, which meant he was hiding something from her.

And Bree knew deep down the "thing" he was hiding probably related to the "vibe" he gave off.

Conner gulped when he saw Bree looking at him. His body suddenly became stiff and he somehow pried Fred's arm away.

 _Her eyes are like lasers, piercing through me and making my insides burn with weird alien heat-_

"Ouch!" Conner muttered lowly when Fred slapped his side. He knew he should be used to Fred's antics after having known him for years, but still, it _did_ hurt.

"Is our next lesson gym?" Fred asked his friend. Conner was still momentarily shocked and surprised that Bree had been staring at him, and something warm bubbled from the pit of his stomach, making him want to leap and yell.

"Dude!" Fred exclaimed again, elbowing his gut. "I asked you a question!"

"Oh, yeah." Conner stammered. "I, umm, yeah, it _is_ gym," he answered weakly. Everyone stared at Conner oddly. Bree raised an eyebrow.

"See ya lovely ladies later!" Fred waved and dragged Conner away. The boy blinked, heart filled with mixed feelings.

He didn't know why, but he was happy when he saw Bree looking at him. She noticed him and he liked it. Conner felt a sudden urge to dance and waved his hands wildly in the air like some madman.

Conner had been always amused yet a bit annoyed by Fred's flirting. He would laugh and facepalm, but suddenly, he didn't like his flirting. It wasn't even funny anymore. In fact, Conner was moderately pissed off by his friend trying to attract those girls' attention.

But Bree didn't seem to care for Fred, so that was a good thing, right?

Wait.

 _When_ did he start to care about what Bree thought of Fred?

Conner scrunched his eyebrows, thinking. After a considerate amount of time, he came to the conclusion that:

1\. He did not like Fred flirting with Bree

2\. Bree was not affected by Fred, and that made him happy

3\. He also felt happy when Bree looked at him

He and Fred reached the locker room and prepared themselves for the next lesson. Conner absentmindedly changed, and suddenly, the memory of hi-fiving Bree came into his mind again. The boy felt a rush of heat zoom to his face, and when he was distracted, he slipped and crashed on the floor. The other boys laughed at his clumsiness and Conner pulled himself up, wondering _why_ was that certain memory stuck in his head.

However, the pain from when he fell down didn't take away the giddiness from the memory.

* * *

Footsteps pounded loudly as a bunch of seventh grade kids ran laps around the gym. A few were lagging behind, and the teacher ushered them to catch up with the others.

Fred, who was considered one of the more athletic ones in his class, was somewhere near the lead. He took a quick glance back, expecting his bud Conner to be at around the back, but to his immense surprise, Conner looked like he was gradually moving forward in the line of people.

Fred spun back and focused on running, breathing heavily.

Unlike Fred, Conner wasn't entirely thinking of running. He was thinking again and again about that hi-five, how badass and cool Bree was, and how she made him _very_ happy when she smiled. Unconsciously, the boy ran faster and faster, motivated.

Conner had a vague idea why he felt so pumped up at that day (the reason was Bree, Bree and Bree). However, Fred had no idea, and was mystified by Conner's sudden increase in physical ability.

"Dude, you okay?" Fred asked after they had finished running. He was concerned yet suspicious of Conner at the same time.

Conner took a huge gulp of cool water then answered, "Yeah. Why did you ask?"

"You ran really fast just now. Like, faster than usual. What did you eat?"

"Hmm," Conner said, pondering.

 _Crap!_ Fred thought. _I was joking! He's actually going to think of an answer?_

"I ate a bar of chocolate before the lesson," Conner replied long last.

"So, you-" Fred began but was cut off by the teacher's whistle. The boy ran a hand through his hair, dissapointed that he didn't get to ask more. Doing "research" had made him incredibly aware of Conner's tiny actions. At first, Alex wrote long paragraphs with analyzations of about everything Conner did, with reference to websites and books about human psychology. Fred was so stunned and scared by Alex. He couldn't get why Alex could treat everything like a school project. With his short reports, Fred felt like he wasn't doing anything, so he tried to be more like Alex.

Conner had never felt so hyper during gym. At a basketball game, he leapt and ran with all his might, which was unusual for a couch potato like him.

"Awww no!" Conner cried when the other team scored. "That was still a good shot though!"

A few other people looked strangely at Conner. Conner wasn't known for being a fan of sports, so they thought it was slightly weird that the boy was so animated.

Fred was running around the court, ball in his possession, a few other people chasing him. He noticed that his best friend seemed to be really energized.

"Conner!" Fred yelled, to signal for his teammate. He tossed the ball, hoping Conner "butterfingers" Bailey could catch it.

Normally, Fred would've passed the ball to someone else, but Conner was the nearest to the basket. There were also a few players trying to tackle Fred, so he had to get rid of the ball.

"Okay!" Conner cried determinedly, and magically caught the ball. His temporary triumph faded when he realized this was the first time he had ever caught a ball.

"What do I do?" Conner muttered under his breath, and started to panic. He could see the guys that had been around Fred was running to where he was.

"Ah, to hell with it all!" Conner cried and frantically moved towards the basket. Fred ran and tried to shield Conner from the other players.

"Shoot!" Fred yelled. "SHOOT!"

"I'm trying!" Conner hollered back, attempting to find an opening. Finally, he raised his hands and gave the ball a push.

All eyes were on that single ball as it soared from the air and landed on the rim, and it bounced off and fell.

 _Oh,_ Fred and Conner's team thought, disappointed.

 _Oh!_ The opposing team screamed internally, delighted.

Despite that Conner had not scored the goal, he played with much more passion than he used to. The boy bounded up and down excitedly, and yelled random things whenever his team scored. Fred wasn't sure if Conner knew anything about basketball, but appreciated his enthusiasm anyways.

"Umm, Conner seems livelier than usual today," a boy nudged Fred.

"I know right," Fred mused in agreement. He wrinkled his nose. "He's been acting strange for a while…"

* * *

While Conner and Fred had their gym lesson, Bree was in her Social Studies class. Bree was pretty good at that subject, but decided to not to pay full attention during that lesson, because Bree wanted to think about Conner first. That boy was more interesting than the subject.

However, after twenty minutes of half-heartedly copying notes, intense thinking and analyzation, Bree still had no idea why Conner gave out those weird vibes. She chewed on her lip, eyes staring blankly at the blackboard as she thought.

"Class, I'm going to give you back the pop quiz you did the other day," the teacher announced. "A lot of you did well, and there are two people who got full marks."

Half of the class immediately turned to Bree and the other half turned to Alex. In their elementary schools, Alex was well known for being the most academically talented student in their year (contrary to her brother), and while Bree was pretty good in most of her subjects, she had a particularly good grasp on Social Studies. Bree bit her lip but smiled politely. Alex was a bit uncomfortable with people's stares on her, and gave an embarrassed smile.

The two girls went out to get their scripts. Alex quickly got hers and scampered back to her seat in a hurry to avoid attention. Bree, however, nearly mistook Alex for Conner, and her heart began to pump, internally scolding herself for such a silly mistake.

 _I mean, Conner and Alex are twins, so they kind of look alike, but still they aren't hard to tell apart!_ Bree yelled at herself as she took her script. _Geez, I like to observe people, but if I can't even tell the difference between a boy twin and a girl twin-_

Bree stopped walking, but she quickly realized her mistake and continued to walk. In her mind, a new path concerning Conner's mysterious aura opened up. Head bursting with possibilities, Bree sat down in a considerably happier mood.

 _What if it's not just Conner? It's also about his sister?_ Bree thought, trying to focus on all of her new ideas at once, and her heart pumped with the excitement. _I probably thought Alex was Conner because of the strange "aura" that I thought was unique to Conner, but what if his sister has that thing too? I mean, they're pretty close._

 _The Conner Bailey mystery had just evolved into the Bailey Twins Mystery,_ Bree declared. Conner seemed more open than Alex, so he would be more likely to reveal something. It would be easier to find out what was happening through observing Conner, but perhaps also observing Alex could provide more evidence.

Alex was in her seat when she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. Puzzled, the girl looked up, but her classmates were all focused on their work. Alex gave a shrug, and returned to what she had been doing. _I'm just hypersensitive because I've been noticing everything Conner does._

* * *

"Hey Conner, you on sugar high?"

"Huh?" Conner spun to look at Fred, who had directed that question at him with a serious expression.

"No!" Conner laughed incredulously. "Where did _that_ come from?"

"You're really hyper, and I know you have a sweet tooth. Maybe you _have_ been intaking too much sugar. You can barely stop moving."

"Come on, I haven't been eating too much candy," Conner said.

Fred shoved his hands in his jean pockets and looked around nonchalantly, seeing some girls walk past.

Conner recognized a certain blonde head, and unexplainably, he began to speak faster.

"I mean," Conner gave a laugh that sounded forced to his ears. "H-how CAN I eat THAT much?" His heart speeded up and he began to stress on certain words without knowing why, but somehow Conner _felt_ like he should act dramatic.

"Dude, I'll get diabetes!" Conner clapped a hand on Fred's shoulder and knocked his knuckles on Fred's head lightly. "Maybe you need to get YOUR brain checked."

"... Okay…" Fred said. He suddenly had a vague feeling that Conner had been more expressive just now. . He pushed Conner away from him, saying, "Dude, you stink. Get off."

When Bree vanished from sight, Conner felt his heart rate return to normal, but he was still slightly puzzled on why he felt the need to be overly dramatic. His feet tapped an erratic rhythm as he thought, and Fred raised an eyebrow. _How can he have that excess amount of energy after gym?_

 _Seriously though, people only act dramatic when they want someone to notice them… and I don't think I don't anyone to notice me?_ Conner mused. _I mean… I kind of like it when Bree looks in my direction, but that's just weird. Really weird._

"Ugh, it's your starry gaze again," Fred groaned out loud.

Conner didn't reply and he bit his lower lip to suppress a smile. _Maybe Fred's right. I'm really hyper and idiotic these days. Must be the candy._

However, as he pondered, the pleasant and bubbly feeling that flowed through his body definitely did not come from sugar.

The image of a certain blonde girl came to Conner's mind, and he blushed, cheeks glowing. Humming a lighthearted tune to himself, the boy skipped all the way home, ignoring the weird look Fred was giving him.

 _Oh, it came from something sweeter._

* * *

 **A/N: SORRY GUYS IT'S BEEN MORE THAN A MONTH! Schoolwork has caught up (sadly), and this might be the last update of 2017 because December is going to be filled with a hell lot of prep for exams. So I won't have that much time and energy to write. Sorry again!**

 **XD Conner is so oblivious it hurts. And I'm surprised that quite a few of you reacted to the "dude" thing. Now I'm making Fred say "dude" at least once per chapter he appears in :P**

 **This is kinda a filler chap, because this one and the last one were supposed to be one chapter but I split it. Things will become more interesting next chapter :D**

 **Thanks for your patience and lovely reviews! *sends virtual hug* You guys are awesome!**

 _ **MeMyselfAndI,**_ **just to let you know, I'm honestly not a fan of Character X OC (of course there are exceptions but few). I can't reveal every ship that will happen, though. Other than Conner and Bree, there** _ **miiiiight**_ **be some minor development of other ships.** _ **Might.**_ **;)**

 **Your support motivates me! Thanks! And please do review if you have the time!**

 **1/12/2017**


	5. Chapter 4: Suspicious, Very Suspicious

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Suspicious, Very Suspicious

Alex Bailey rapidly made her way to the library, which was also her secret haven; one to shield her from the outside word. The young girl walked to the section on fairy tales, and took out the same book she had been reading yesterday. She sat down with a contented smile and she flipped through the pages, looking down at them fondly as if the book was a photo album of her family.

Unknownst to her, four pairs of eyes were peering at her through the gaps in the bookshelves. Like robots, they started at Alex, unblinking, hands clasping the shelves tightly.

Bree Campbell stepped into the library, planning to return a few books she had borrowed. She quirked a single blonde eyebrow at the obvious sight of the four girls spying, then strode towards the library counter, choosing to ignore the quartet's weird antics.

"She's doing it again," a short girl hissed, two ponytails swinging as she spun to look at her companions, a fierce look glinting in her eyes. "There _is_ something up with Alex Bailey."

"Yeah, I agree," one of the other girls, Cindy, whispered. Narrowing her eyes, she returned to peering through the gap between books.

A lanky brown-skinned girl next to Cindy crouched down, but even so, she was still around Cindy's height even though the other girl was standing. "She's mumbling something at the books," the girl, Lindy, said in an undertone. Her eyes were wide as she shot looks towards Alex.

Mindy, the first girl, poked her friend who was standing besides her. "Hmm? What do you think, Wendy?"

The black-haired girl was startled to be touched, but she nodded vigorously, agreeing with what the others had said. With a frown, she jerked her head towards the unsuspecting Alex on the other side of the bookshelf, indicating that she too thought Alex's behavior was peculiar.

Mindy motioned for the other girls to follow her, and they walked away from Alex. Fortunately for them, Alex was too in deep in reading to notice them. Once there was a suitable distance between the girls and Alex, they immediately huddled in a circle. Mindy began, "Okay girls, anyone have any ideas on why Alex's hugging a book?"

Cindy looked like she was about to speak, but Mindy herself beat her to it. "Well, for me, I believe the book is from aliens, and Alex wants the discover the secrets of the alien civilization by talking to it," she suggested confidently. Cindy wrinkled her nose, apparently a bit annoyed that Mindy was taking the lead _again._

"Or maybe she's just lonely and wants to talk to someone," Cindy offered. Mindy pursed her lips; she wasn't looking for _this_ kind of answer.

"Cindy, that's so boring!" Mindy chastised. Waving her arms, she began a passionate spiel, and her voice got louder and louder. "A lot of things can happen! Maybe she's a spy for someone! Or in touch with an underground association! Perhaps secretly working for the government! We know she's the smartest girl in our grade, and with this abnormal behavior and her disappearance along with her brother earlier this year, she's hiding something!"

"Shh!" the librarian hissed, spinning to glare at Mindy. All four girls winced. "Sorry," Mindy peeped.

"Umm, but she's just a schoolgirl, like us," Lindy pointed out delicately, trying not to upset Mindy.

Mindy scoffed. "Even at this age, she can hide a lot of secrets. Age isn't the factor here."

Meanwhile, Wendy's eyes had been following a certain blonde girl during the whole conversation. She watched as Bree moved from the library counter to one of the sections on junior fiction. The Asian wondered if Bree, who was pretty smart, knew about Alex's book-hugging habits.

Wendy was beginning to get a bit impatient, because the three girls looked like they were straying far on the real reason for Alex's actions. She tugged on Mindy's sleeve and gestured towards Bree. Mindy looked at Bree and because she thought Bree was pretty smart too, she decided to ask for her advice.

At that moment, Bree had been totally absorbed in reading the titles of the books in the section of murder mystery novels. Intrigued, her unblinking eyes moved from one book spine to the other, taking in the information. As her hand reached for a book she had a particular interest in, she felt someone tap her arm.

"Yes?" the girl asked, and instantly felt a surge of annoyance when she saw who it was, but swallowed it down. _These_ _four girls again!_ "What do you want?"

Bree had known the four girls ever since they were kids. Bree had once thought in an alternate universe, she might be good friends with them, because they share the same curiosity and desire to solve mysteries, but unfortunately, they were too nosy for her taste. Bree disliked that they jumped to conclusions without any evidence, and besides, she could work just fine on her own. Bree prepared herself for another silly question about a ludicrous possibility.

"Hey Bree," Cindy began. "Have you noticed that Alex Bailey has been a bit weird lately?"

That caught Bree's attention. She got the feeling that there was something special about the Bailey twins, but she previously thought she was the only one to realize. Perhaps the quartet wasn't as stupid as she thought?

"In what ways?" Bree asked.

Lindy gave a coy smile. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

Bree knew that although the girls usually came up with nonsense, they wouldn't lie to her. She knew spying was wrong, but she honestly wanted to find out what the girls had spotted. Cautiously, she followed the girls to the bookshelf where they had snooped on Alex.

She bent down to peer through the gaps, and to her immense surprise, Bree saw Alex hugging a book and whispering "please take me back". Bree felt her heart pump; this could be an important clue! Alex was usually a sensible and mature person, so Bree thought it seemed out of character of her to speak to inanimate objects.

Bree drew away from the shelf, and Cindy whispered in her ear, "So? What do you think?"

"I…" Bree fiddled with the bracelets on her wrist as she thought. "I don't know," she finally replied after a moment of silence.

The other girls shared looks with each other. "But you do agree that Alex's been behaving strangely?" Mindy said in a hushed voice.

"Well yeah… but please don't judge her because of it. That's impolite," Bree, knowing the girls' stalker tendencies, reminded them.

Alex stood up abruptly and put the book away, startling the five girls. Immediately, they pretended to be examining the books around them. Wendy shot quick looks at Alex as she bypassed their spot. Apparently the bookworm hadn't seen them, which was good.

Meanwhile, Bree was glad that she hadn't chosen to ignore the girls earlier. Both of the Bailey twins were acting weirdly, which quite confirmed her suspicions that there was a mystery surrounding the twins.

Speaking of weird, after watching Alex in the library during lunch break, it was English lesson. Or more known as "about the only period where Conner and Bree could interact".

Bree felt pretty bad that she was literally waiting for Conner to screw up in one way or another in order for her to (hopefully) get a lead on the mysterious aura surrounding him and his sister.

She sneaked a look at the boy, who was chattering boisterously with his friends. Conner was making one of his famous exaggerated hand actions to illustrate his words. She wondered why Conner seemed so _loud_ every time she saw him. Clutching her books to her chest, Bree walked through the door and towards her seat.

She never saw that fist coming her way.

 _WHAM!_

Bree stumbled back as something knocked on her head, her books nearly clattering to the floor as a result of loss of balance. Her sharp brown eyes swerved to where she felt the impact came from. A wide-eyed Conner stared back at her, the whites of his eyes clearly visible, a look of sheer horror on his face. His two arms were flung out but unmoving, so Bree thought Conner resembled a frozen windmill. He had probably hit her when he was trying to explain something via hand gestures.

"OhmyGodIamsosorry," he breathed out in one go. His arms awkwardly flopped back to his sides, as the boys behind him chuckled. "A-are you okay?"

"Yup," Bree shifted the weight of her books to one hand, and used the other to massage her head. "No worries."

Relief washed over Conner's face, as his posture visibly became less stiff. Bree thought it was a bit weird that he seemed so anxious when he accidentally hit her. She gave Conner a look. While her expression didn't show it, she was secretly a bit disapproving of his clumsy actions. However, her view of him had gone up ever since their victory in that Kahoot game.

Conner felt like his insides were completely liquefied, and not in a good way. As always, his overly imaginative mind took it pretty badly.

 _She's going to hate me forever,_ Conner groaned in his mind. _Why do I always have to embarrass myself in front of_ her _?_ Lately, Conner found out that he couldn't hear, say, or even think of Bree's name without feeling his face flush, so he just referred to the girl as "her".

He couldn't bear to make eye contact with her. Conner slunk in the shadows of his friends, hoping she wouldn't notice him in a bad way again. He must've looked pretty mortified, because the people around him continued to laugh.

Bree sat down and dutifully placed her books on the left side of her desk, like she always did. A tug on her ponytail made her groan and she whipped her head towards the back, where this annoying, scrawny kid grinned up at her, face spotted with acne.

Bree didn't like him. First of all, he had been in the same elementary school as she had been, and he kept annoying her by grabbing her hair or stealing her lunch. Second, he was, according to Bree, at the peak of immaturity of middle school boys. He made the lamest jokes ever and thought it was fun to chase girls around. It looked like he never progressed from his kindergarten years.

"Please," Bree began drily. "Just stop pulling my hair."

"And what if I don't?" he challenged.

From a distance, Conner watched, or more likely, glared at their interaction. Fury bubbled in his throat as he saw this idiot annoy Bree, but he forced himself to keep it down. _It's none of your business,_ he repeated to himself, so he didn't move. (Not so) secretly, he hoped Bree could knock the living daylights out of that bastard with a satisfying punch, like in the movies. Scratch that, he would have loved to do it himself, but Conner was sure that Bree could handle it way better. And it would be peculiar for an outsider like him to join in.

After a while, it seemed like Bree had won, because the boy turned his attention to some other girl sitting beside him.

"Dude," someone patted Conner's shoulder. "Your face is all red."

"Really?" Conner felt his face, and found out that he was right. He was so absorbed just now he never noticed his own condition.

"Yeah," Fred said. "You had this really red face and you were squinting. Dude, you looked constipated."

"Well…" Conner backed away nervously on instinct, legs moving of its own accord. He had no idea what to say. He felt numerous eyes on him, but Fred's glare was particularly piercing, reminding Conner of those 1000 degrees knife experiment videos he had randomly caught sight of.

His anxious eyes darted back and forth. "...Anyways…" he drawled slowly, racking his brains for a reply. Even if he had found something to say, he wouldn't have the chance, because the bell rang at that precise moment. Soft groans were heard throughout the classroom as a couple of Conner's friends prepared to leave.

An obvious shoulder nudge. Conner spun to see Fred, who said clearly, as if Conner was a four-year-old, "I'm going now."

Conner made a face, surprised at Fred's attitude and tone. He was probably making fun of him because of his red face, but it somehow seemed a little weird. "Bye," Conner replied, beaming inwardly as he remembered he was spending an entire lesson with Br- _her._ On the outside, however, he put on a neutral face. After all, he knew he'd been acting strange for too long.

Through the gaps between the moving students, Conner glimpsed Fred trying to write something, head bowed low. A few girls blocked his view, and when they went away, Fred was gone.

Conner quirked his lips, and he felt that Fred had been behaving a bit abnormally these days. First were the hushed exchanges with Alex, then glares, and now scribbling things down? Deep in thought, he tried to sit down, but stumbled and nearly tripped. A slight annoyance twinged in his chest before he managed to actually sit.

Bree had been idly observing Conner prior to the lesson. She, wasn't a bumbling idiot (unlike her target of observation), so of _course_ she noticed Conner staring daggers at the other idiot sitting behind her. Bree felt bad that she thought Conner looked amusing back then, his round red face somewhat resembling an overripe tomato. With pursed lips and squinted eyes, he looked about to burst.

She knew Conner was a painfully honest person. She'd heard about him making snarky comebacks to teachers, and commenting in lessons, only to be overheard. So, she theorized he could be someone who wasn't afraid to say what they thought, could care less about society's views, and would fight hard for the truth. Bree admired these qualities, because she was like that too. Although, they were only her theories Bree got from studying personality types. She hadn't actually seen them in Conner.

Anyways, Bree supposed that Conner was getting annoyed at the kid behind her on her behalf, which was… nice? He looked pretty mad too, with his coloured face and stiffened pose. Conner might have had came to her defence if she didn't say a thing. But Bree was also an honest person, so she just downright stopped that kid. Bree was grateful and felt appreciated when she saw her classmate caring for her. She'd only talked to him like once? Twice?

Just as her impression of him began to get better, he nearly fell down. Again. Bree had lost count of the clumsy stuff he had done. She snickered lightly when he planted himself firmly on the chair, then stopped.

 _Oh God, why am I laughing?_ Bree questioned herself. She wasn't mocking him or looking down at him. It wasn't that funny. No one else had noticed his little slip up. So why did she find it slightly amusing?

When Conner turned, Bree immediately whipped her head back, eyes glued onto her desk. She told herself that she was just acting on instinct, and she didn't want to be caught and look creepy. It was normal. That anxious fluttery feeling in her stomach was normal.

As a self-proclaimed "honest" person, it was ironic Bree knew she was lying to herself. But she didn't know why.

And part of her didn't want to find the reason.

* * *

Conner was having a weird daydream.

He dreamt that it was winter and a gigantic snow storm had occured, burying half the school with snow (yes, he knew it was highly impossible). Most people had evacuated, leaving him and Bree alone at the freezing school. She was somehow unconscious, and brave, heroic Conner carried her bridal-style to the school rooftop where they would wait for a helicopter or something.

Conner didn't even _know_ why he was having that daydream.

"Mr. Bailey!" Ms. York rapped her knuckles against the blackboard. Conner jolted out of his daydream. "Yes ma'am!" he barked like a soldier in training. A ripple of laughter spread across the classroom.

"Glad to see you awake," Ms. York said with a sarcastic tone. She pointed at her powerpoint and asked, "Can you tell me one element of the original _The Little Mermaid_?"

Conner suddenly remembered that they were beginning a new text that lesson. Thankfully, he knew a _lot_ about fairy tales. "Well, the mermaid was supposed to kill the prince with a dagger that her sisters had exchanged for hair, but she couldn't, so she turned to foam and became something like the Daughters of the Wind. And try to gain immortality. Not sure about the last part though," he shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal.

Both Ms. York and the class were shocked that the boy was so knowledgeable. Ms. York had chosen to ask a something she thought he would never know, but she underestimated him.

"Very good, Mr. Bailey," she said. "I'm rather surprised."

"Oh yeah, I like these stories," Conner replied. "After all, I've visited them."

"Excuse me?" Ms. York asked disbelievingly. Conner blinked when he realized his mistake, and frantically attempted to cover it up.

"I… umm, I've read the stories, yeah, the stories, so much that… it almost feels like I've entered them!" Conner managed to say. He gave a false laugh that sounded intensely awkward even to his own ears.

"I guess that's what good books do to you," Ms. York said, seemingly accepting Conner's claim, but her eyes were still studying her student intently. "Anyways, back to the text…"

 _So Alex hugs books, and Conner says he visited one?_ Bree thought, eyes narrowing, her focus no longer on her lesson. _Suspicious, very suspicious. And how does that link to their funny aura?_

* * *

"Here you go," Fred unceremoniously dumped a few pieces of papers in Alex's arms. To Alex's slight distaste, the papers were a bit rumpled up. As someone who loved stationery, she always felt a bit squirmish around creased papers.

"Nice," Alex ran her hands over the papers in an effort to smooth them over. "Good job, Freddie."

"Any leads?" Fred asked.

"I'm still searching," Alex replied, putting the papers into her school bag. "Where's Conner?"

"I dunno," Fred said, his eyes roaming over to the students milling in the hallways. School had ended, so everyone wanted to go. Fred was on the tall side, so he could see better over the heads of people, but still, no sight of Conner.

"Do you think he tripped and had a concussion?" Fred muttered absentmindedly. That was intended as a joke, but taking Conner's sudden clumsiness into consideration, what he said might not be entirely impossible.

"Heh, as if I would," a familiar voice piped up next to Alex and Fred.

"Oh, I'm _so_ relieved," Fred said sarcastically, catching sight of a grinning, reddish-brown haired boy.

Conner nudged Fred. "You meanie, you never cared for me!" he laughed.

"Okay," Alex cut in, afraid that the boys' bantering would go out of hand. "Let's go home, Conner," she laughed and tugged on Conner's sleeve.

Conner stuck his tongue out. "Oh look, my sister's being naggy again. Someone save me!" he cried dramatically, but followed Alex nevertheless.

The twins waved goodbye to Fred before they stepped out of the campus, their strawberry blond hair glinting in the afternoon light.

"I think I'm going to the library later," Alex said, turning to her brother. "You tagging along?"

"Nah," Conner kicked a pebble by his foot and watched it roll away. "I'm going to take a nap. School drains all of my energy."

"Oh, alright."

There was a brief silence, then Conner launched into retelling the stuff he did at school, including how he messed up by accidentally hitting Bree, although he didn't say it was her. In fact, just thinking about _her_ and that incident made the blood rush to Conner's cheeks.

"It's embarrassing," Conner muttered. He thought about how sometimes he wanted to act dramatic when Bree was around. Now, he just wanted to jump into the abyss and vanish from Earth's surface forever. Preferably with some cheeseburgers because Conner had a craving for them.

"It's forgettable. I'm sure no one minds," Alex attempted to soothe him.

Conner huffed and kicked an empty soda can lying on the road.

When they returned home, the twins went their separate ways, Conner to his small room, and Alex to the local library.

Alex strode to a computer at the library and put a file on the table. She was a bit nervous because unlike Conner, she was pretty bad at dealing with computers and technology.

Anyways, Alex took out the reports she and Fred had painstakingly written. She had decided to use the internet to search and see if she could find something that could relate to Conner's condition. Alex had learned from her teachers that the internet wasn't always a reliable source, but she thought it was more efficient than browsing through numerous, possibly outdated books.

After entering several of Conner's "symptoms" into the search bar, Alex discovered there was something in common with all the results. Something she wasn't exactly familiar with. Blue eyes narrowed, she clicked on a link and another, heart thumping with anticipation.

* * *

"So kids, how was school?" Charlotte Bailey asked her children over a slice of pizza.

"It was okay," Alex and Conner answered simultaneously, the latter picking at his food. It was their standard reply.

Charlotte frowned slightly when she saw Conner. "Is something wrong, Conner?"

The boy let out a small sigh as he said, "Well, this is the third time we've had pizza from takeout this week. I know, I shouldn't complain. I'm being selfish," he ended on a guilty tone.

"Well, would you rather have Chinese takeout?" Charlotte asked.

Conner made a comical face. "No offense to the Chinese guys, but their food just isn't my cup of tea."

Alex took a slice of pizza and munched on it quietly. After she had finished it, as if treading on a field of landmines, she carefully asked, "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure," both her mother and brother replied, although Conner's reply was muffled by the food in his mouth.

"When do you think Grandma will visit us again?"

Alex missed her grandma and the Land of Stories a lot. So much, that at school, she went to the library in a desperate effort to comfort herself. She hoped no one had seen her hugging books; she wondered if she looked like a maniac.

"Sweetheart, I don't know," Charlotte said in her most sympathetic tone. "I guess fairies have their way of doing things. They probably have a lot of duties to do."

"So much that she can't even afford to visit us once?" Alex replied in an uncharacteristically harsh way. Her words hung in the air, the only sound being the creak of a chair as Conner shifted.

"She's probably busy," Charlotte addressed the twins. "But of course, she still loves you guys, in case you're a bit worried."

Conner and Alex exchanged glances, before Conner decided to speak for the two of them. "It's not just Grandma, we kind of want to go back to the Land of Stories. We miss our friends there."

A selfish part of Charlotte didn't want them to visit the magical place again. It was too dangerous, and she worried herself sick the last time they vanished. But she could see it in their eyes; the same longing she had seen on John. The magic of the Land of Stories lived in their blood, so a part of them would always stay there. She was powerless to stop that.

"Well," Charlotte cut out a piece of pizza. "You can't just find a magic portal on the streets and go back. I'm sorry guys, but unless your grandma pays us a surprise visit, you can't enter the Land of Stories."

The twins' shoulders sagged upon hearing their mother's words. Conner subconsciously took a huge bite of his pizza, not knowing what to do.

"I really want to go back," Alex muttered, curling a strand of hair around her finger.

"I miss fiery glint in Goldilocks' eyes when she fights. I miss the way Froggy smiles politely at about everyone. I even miss the way Red's nose tilt up, as if the world's beneath her, when she's bragging," Conner mumbled, stabbing a fork repeatedly in his food, taking out his melancholy through inanimate objects.

When she listened to Conner, Alex felt like she could almost see his words paint a picture of her friends in her mind. She was silently in awe that he had the ability to do that. However, thinking about them only made Alex miss her friends more.

"Anyways," Charlotte said matter-of-factly. "There's not much you can do about it. So, I'll suggest you to find something to occupy your time. Like a new hobby. Or talk to your friends at school." Her expression softened. "It won't do you any good if you get stuck in the past." Charlotte had a distant look in her eyes when she said the last sentence. It was almost like she wasn't speaking to her children, but more to herself. Charlotte bit her lip as a familiar yet faraway face floated into her mind, one that she would never see again.

Yes, all three of them had people they missed, and they all originated from the Land of Stories.

Alex went quiet as she stared at her plate. Normal life seemed so plain and boring after she had spent two weeks adventuring in a fantasy world of stories with her twin. So she spent a lot of time rereading fairy tales in an attempt to immerse herself in her memories. Alex once even spent an hour desperately trying to perform some kind of magic. After all, how could she resist, when she knew her grandmother was the famous Fairy Godmother, and she had magic in her blood? But going back to school, she found it all a little hard to stomach down.

"Mom's right," Conner said out loud, although Alex knew he was directing those words to her. He gave his sister a comforting smile. "We can't do anything at that moment. Grandma might not be with us, but she and our friends from the Land of Stories will remain in our hearts and minds."

Alex nearly choked. "Oh my _God_ Conner, stop making them sound like they're dead!" she exclaimed, before bursting into raucous peals of laughter.

Conner flinched. "Sorry!" he yelped. "I was just trying to make things better! I didn't mean it, honestly!"

"Yeah, we know you didn't," Charlotte said teasingly, although she was also hiding a grin. "Promise me that you'll find something else to focus on, be it school, sports, or whatever."

"Yes Mom!" Conner agreed chirpily. Alex eyed her brother, finding his behavior peculiar, until she remembered what she had found at the library.

Alex was less cheerful than her brother, but to stop worrying her mother, she also complied. She didn't know whether to be relieved or troubled by her findings at the library. They were mildly concerning, but it wasn't anything big.

"I'm going to do my English homework after dinner!" Conner announced. Charlotte and Alex shot him surprised looks, but either he didn't notice or chose to ignore them. The mention of English class had seemingly put Conner in a good mood.

A mere day earlier, if Alex had been faced with the same situation, she would've asked if Conner was ill. But now, after finding out what was up with him (at least, that was what she assumed. Alex was rarely wrong), Alex found it rather amusing, and for the second time that dinner, she almost choked. She tried to stifle her giggles by hiding her mouth behind a napkin.

 _Wait till Freddie finds out about Conner,_ she thought. _What fun would he have, as Conner's best friend._

* * *

Alex was so excited to tell Fred, she sought him out before school started, Conner following her. She passed a bunch of girls chatting in the hallway, and recognized a few faces. She shared her Social Studies class with the blonde, and she heard that the redhead claimed to have a crush on Fred. The other faces faded into oblivion as she strode boldly up to her target, an unsuspecting tall boy.

"Come with me," she said quickly and dragged Fred away by the wrist. Conner, who was rather sleep deprived that day, was vaguely aware that it wasn't the first time Alex had done that. The boys who were talking to Fred looked confused, because they all thought Alex was a very shy and timid girl. Funny to see her pulling a bigger boy.

Meanwhile, on seeing Alex and Fred, a few girls laughed and teased Danielle, who huffed. "I'm not jealous! I don't like Hayford!" the ginger insisted, face almost becoming as red as her hair.

"Yeah…" Bree, who was besides her, muttered absent-mindedly, her eyes trained on Conner Bailey. For some reason, he looked tider. His usual bedhead wasn't present, despite the sleepy, dreary look in his eyes. His shirt wasn't wrinkled or lopsided. Maybe his mother was a neat freak. Or more probably, his sister was one.

Anyways, why was Bree so concentrated on Conner Bailey and the changes and qualities he displayed? It didn't make much sense to Bree, and she hated nonsense. It made her head hurt to think about it.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Danielle asked out of curiosity, having seen Bree looking at something (or some _one_ ) for quite some time. Bree nearly jumped out of shock and sudden fear, which was a rare feeling for someone as composed as she was. She tried to calm her racing heart, telling herself she wasn't breaking the law.

"Nothing," Bree answered automatically, swiftly turning her eyes away from Conner. Somehow, she didn't want Dani or the girls to know that she was looking at Conner. That strange (but not entirely unwelcome) twist in her abdomen didn't make things better.

"Okay," Fred yawned, slate-grey eyes peering at the female Bailey twin in front of him. "What it is?"

Alex steeled herself, knowing that what she found was either very important or a gigantic mistake. She hoped (and believed) it was the former. The teen took a deep breath, and said,

" _I think Conner has a crush on someone."_

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, wow it's been long! Sorry for that! Thanks for your nice reviews and favs and alerts! :)**

 **AND WOOO THANKS FOR 1000+ VIEWS!**

 **Also, umm yeah, the first half of the story isn't only about Conner and Bree's relationship, it's also a bit about the twins. Because, man, I can't leave them out. And I've taken a liking to Fred, and he shouldn't be somehow promoted to a mainish character, because he's an OC.**

 **(I set strict rules for myself when I insert OCs into fanfictions.)**

 **(In case you can't tell, I don't really like fanfictions where OCs are main characters.)**

 **(But a small part of me is starting to lowkey ship Fred and Alex.)**

 **Next chapter is going to be Bree centric, so you'll see more of her!**

 **If you liked it, please review! Thanks for reading! :)**

 **2/2/2018**


	6. Chapter 5: Just Observing

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Just Observing

" _I think Conner has a crush on someone."_

Fred choked on thin air, but calmed down pretty quickly. He knew it would be fun to tease Conner about it, but it was almost too good to be true. "Evidence?" he placed his hands on his hips.

"I put a lot of Conner's actions into the search bar, and the results were generally the same: he likes someone," Alex replied promptly. "If you don't believe me, go and search."

"Oooh," Fred wolf-whistled, instantly looking awake even in the morning. Then he leaned close to Alex, smirked, and whispered, "Who?"

Alex gave Fred a side-glare, feeling amused yet exasperated by Fred's curiosity. _Wow, people do love rumours and gossip a lot,_ she thought. _How easily entertained are they._ "No, I do not know," she pronounced each word loudly and clearly, to prevent Fred from trying to squeeze additional information out of her. Information that she didn't have.

"Huh," Fred cocked an eyebrow, grey eyes alight. "Are you hiding it?' he mused out loud.

Alex sighed, knowing this question would come sooner or later. "Noooo Freddie, I'm not hiding anything," she told him plainly as if he was a kid. In fact, it was the same tone she had spoken to him when they were younger and Alex was considered the most mature of the trio. "Besides, you're Conner's best friend, you should know who he likes before I do."

"But you're his twin sister," Fred argued. "Doesn't he share everything with you?"

"I thought you guys talk about girls all the time. Girls complain about your flirtatious attitude." It was Alex's turn to raise her eyebrows. _I feel that strong aura radiating off her,_ Fred sweatdropped. Alex was usually shy and quiet, but she could exercise a certain amount of sass around those close to her. She probably got it from Conner.

"Well, not all the time," Fred defended himself. "And Conner's a pure soul. He probably doesn't even _know_ he has a crush."

"That's possible," Alex, knowing her brother, wouldn't be surprised if he was blindingly oblivious to his own crush.

"Now our next step is to find out who he likes!" Fred declared.

"Uhh yeah," Alex mumbled half-heartedly. "You know I don't get into these gossipy topics."

"But we're just trying to help Conner," Fred tried to sway Alex. "I promise, I won't spread it to the others."

"I don't think that kid needs a girlfriend at this age," Alex muttered. "None of us are mature enough."

"Aww, come on!" Fred clapped Alex on the shoulder. "It's just a weensy crush. It won't do much harm," he tried to persuade her.

"No," Alex waved a hand, her decision final. "If you want to find out who he likes, do it yourself. I respect his privacy."

"Alright," Fred replied easily and dug his hands in his pockets. "I won't be bothering you." He strode off, an impassive mask on his face, but underneath that, he was internally cackling at the tidbit of interesting information he had just gotten.

 _Oooh, I'm definitely going to find out who Conner likes. It's his first crush… ha!_

* * *

Bree didn't like it.

She normally enjoyed a good puzzle, but this had put her to the test.

And the entire thing was Conner Bailey's fault.

She didn't like how the mystery of him and his sister made her rack her brains until all logical possibilities had all but vanished. She didn't like how that, after all her time spent thinking and analyzing, she couldn't come to a conclusion. She especially disliked how Conner Bailey in particular made her feel really weird. She didn't even know what she thought of him anymore.

Maybe Bree should just give up.

But the mystery was so tantalizing and attracted Bree like a moth to a flame. It was so much more appealing and mesmerizing than any detective story, any mystery novel. It felt like _she_ should be the one to unwind the story behind the Bailey twins, carefully picking at hints and clues, and finding the answer between them.

Her intuition told her she should continue to investigate them.

But the girl had no leads at all (silly and unpractical suggestions didn't count). So, Bree thought, the only thing she could do at the moment was to observe more without seeming creepy at the same time.

If there was another thing Bree disliked other than frustrating riddles, it was boredom. School would be boring to a max if a certain boy hadn't ensnared her attention.

In Bree's eyes, Conner Bailey was an interesting person. He was eye-catching in a crowd, and Bree felt like he was in control of the atmosphere in the classroom. Like whenever he said something funny, laughter would ripple through the classroom and everyone instantly became less tense.

There was the added fact that he kept on stumbling over his words, and that resulted in a (hilarious) mix up of sentences.

Bree wondered if Conner knew she knew something was up with him and his sister, because he seemed to be a clumsy, nervous mess around her. He always had this ridiculous smile on whenever she caught his eye, and it made Bree's stomach a bit queasy, but not exactly in a bad way.

Anyways, with all that time she spent observing him, school wasn't as boring as she would've thought.

Although Bree did think she was a bit creepy, because she noted every little thing that Conner said or did. Including his house address which he had casually mentioned to someone, his mother's job, and even his mother's work address. She saved every piece of information about him in her mind.

Plus there was this piece of interesting trivia, that Conner had said that he had somehow visited a fairy tale. Bree had seen him say that for at least three times, and that was just in English lesson. He had always blundered and tried to cover it up, but by then Bree had already noticed his slip ups.

The girl could feel that there was more to Conner (and Alex) Bailey that it seemed, but other than her and the eccentric four girls, nobody had noticed.

(As of late, Bree found that whenever she thought about the twins, Conner would automatically come to her mind first. She had no idea why.)

As Ms. York droned on and on, Bree twirled a strand of hair by her ear as she stared at the blackboard, not really listening to her English teacher. Similarly, Conner was looking at Bree from his spot a few seats away, admiring her.

 _She must be really smart and attentive, because she's looking at the front with such focus,_ Conner thought dreamily, catching the steady yet determined look in her brown eyes.

Meanwhile, Bree was trying to recall Conner's physical appearance, like the way his hair flopped about or the freckles that dotted his face (which still had baby fat), so she could easily recognize him even in a crowd. She was certainly not thinking about the lesson materials, contrary to what Conner had presumed.

Bree was becoming rather proud of her skill of noticing Conner even there were a lot of people around him. It should be hard to distinguish a single voice in the midst of the noisy cafeteria with shouting kids, but somehow, Bree's ears could tune out every other sound and only focus on Conner's voice. And his strawberry-blond hair stood out to her among all the other colours.

But, whenever she saw Conner, an unfamiliar feeling would blossom in her chest. It wasn't a decidedly bad feeling, but just strange and confusing.

 _I'm just observing,_ Bree told herself. _And that's the end of it._

Conner watched Bree twirl her hair, and had the sudden, immature impulse to touch her hair. Would it be smooth and silky?

Conner flushed bright red, embarrassed at his weird thoughts. He jerked his head away from Bree and tried valiantly to focus on the lesson (he failed). He could feel the heat emanating from his cheeks and he bit his lip, hoping he wouldn't be noticed.

 _Aww, my hair's greasy,_ Bree mused, rubbing her fingers over her hair. _I hadn't washed it yesterday…_ She had no idea that Conner already had a perfect image of her, putting her on a pedestal.

And so the lesson continued, neither of them focusing on the teaching materials, but rather, (unknowingly) on each other.

* * *

After the morning lessons, Conner stumbled out to the cafeteria, where he met up with his friends. Fred greeted the boy politely enough, but in fact his sharps eyes were watching Conner's every move, somewhat desperate to see who he liked. They lined up to get their lunches, chatting idly.

"The school lunch is terrible," Fred complained loudly, and a lunch lady who had heard glared at him.

"Shh," Conner nudged Fred. "What if she puts poison in your food?"

"Where would she get the poison from?" Fred asked jokingly, deciding to play the game with Conner.

"It's because…" Conner lowered his voice, sending shifty looks at the lunch lady. "She's actually a witch, in disguise of a harmless lunch lady! She wants to kill our entire school one day!"

"Oh, wow," Fred chuckled, ever-so-amused at Conner's imaginative mind. "Dude, if you always think like that, you should write a book or something."

"That sounds cool," Conner replied absentmindedly. Actually, he _had_ been writing some stories about his and his sister's adventures in the Land of Stories. The characters' identities had been disguised, but he was sure Alex could see through them all. It was a way to pass time, and a way to record their memories of the Land of Stories before they vanished. Conner found himself missing his friends as he wrote, hoping he was able to immortalize their features, their personalities and their traits through ink and paper.

The scowling lunch lady dumped a pile of goop on the boys' tray. She knew they had been talking about her. Conner sent her an apologetic smile and they went away.

"Hey Conner, do you like someone?" Fred's question popped out of the blue.

"Huh? No," Conner replied, and Fred observed his face closely. No blushing, no stuttering, nothing weird. He trusted Alex's judgement, so perhaps she was right. Conner didn't know he had a crush.

Conner's reply was rather ironic, because at that moment, Bree and her friends appeared in the cafeteria, that purple beanie and blonde ponytail catching Conner's attention immediately. He even stopped walking to stare.

Fred, noticing that, was about to say "duuuude" but then, he saw Conner looking at a bunch of girls. Fred squinted, and he could make out Danielle (aka. the girl who liked him, according to the rumours) and a couple other girls, whom he recognized by face but not by name. Fred rolled his eyes and tugged Conner's sleeve with more strength than usual.

"If you like a girl, you should ask me for advice," Fred winked, seeing Conner's dazed expression. Upon hearing Fred's words, the other boy came back to life.

"Ew no, the girls all run away from you anyway," he chortled.

They laughed and made their way to the benches. Bree and the girls happened to cross paths with them.

Conner was again mesmerized by Bree's swaying ponytail. It caught the light and he blinked, temporarily blinded by her golden hair. Conner tried to move to keep up with Fred, but his clumsy legs weren't listening. Instead, to his horror, he tripped over himself, mouth wide open in shock. To make matters worse, he had embarrassed himself in front of Bree _again._

But that wasn't the worst thing.

The worst thing was that Conner had been holding his tray of food (if it could be called food) and when he fell, _the slop landed right on Bree's clothes._

Conner splattered to the ground right before Bree, the tray clattering besides him. His face crashed on the cool tiles of the floor. Highly mortified, he peered up at _her,_ who was reaching out a hand to him, saying, "Are you okay?"

All the blood rushed to Conner's head, making him feel woozy. "Uh, umm, I'm fine," he managed to get out, and the boy stumbled to his feet, too embarrassed to take Bree's hand. He eyed the warm brown mash on Bree's pants, and he winced.

 _I had dirtied her clothes, and the first thing she cares about is_ me _? Is she an angel sent from heaven?_

"I'm really sorry, I should have been more careful," he stuttered out in one go, his face as red as a ripe tomato.

Bree's friends were talking rapidly like a bunch of squawking birds. Surprisingly enough, Bree was the calmest one among them, despite that she was the one who had been hurt.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I'll just wash the stains away," Bree told a girl who was frantically trying to wipe the food away using a tissue. The girls glared at him, blaming him for ruining Bree's clothes, then ushered her away. Guilt squeezed Conner's chest, and he shamefully lowered his eyes.

"Conner!" a yell came from among the people. The boy looked up and saw Fred, who was glaring at him. "You got yourself into trouble again!"

"I guess?" Conner half-heartedly picked up the dirty tray from the floor. Fred shoved a broom at his hands, and Conner began to mop the floor, trying valiantly to ignore the watchful people that passed by.

Fred had seen how Conner had looked at Bree. He snorted, amused by Conner's wild reaction towards the girl with the purple hat. Huh, so maybe his best friend had a crush on that unknown girl? It was a shame that Fred didn't know much about her. Maybe they shared a class or two together, but that was it. He hadn't heard any bad rumours about the girl, so she was probably a decent person.

Fred had met Conner long enough to know that despite his sunny personality, he had built up a wall around his emotions, protecting them from outsiders. Even Fred, Conner's best friend, wasn't allowed to see past his barrier everytime. He clenched his fists, suddenly feeling an unusual rage of protectiveness for his friend. If any girl dared to break his heart-

Conner's fingers fumbled with the broom, recalling the mortifying incident. Bree would hate him forever! He hadn't just embarrassed himself, he had somehow dragged her into the mess.

That was how they were. She was a goddess; he was a lowly peasant. Being close to her would just taint her and destroy her perfectness. She was totally out of his league.

He couldn't even muster the courage to properly approach and talk to her. So all he could do was to gaze at her from a distance, admiring her, but he knew he could never get too close.

* * *

"How dare he!" a girl muttered angrily, as Bree washed her pants in the washroom. She had to take them off, but thankfully she had a jacket, and she tied that around her waist. Her friends were clustered tightly around her, still talking about the incident.

"Relax, it's an accident," Bree tried to soothe them.

"It's not an accident!" Danielle chimed in. "I saw him looking at you and became distracted, then he tripped. He's a real weirdo!"

All the girls spun to stare at Danielle. Even Bree, the ever observant one, hadn't noticed that. Maybe she was too occupied with that funny feeling in her stomach when she saw Conner?

"Wait, so that boy likes Bree?" another girl shrieked, and like the bunch of middle school girls they were, they oohed loudly.

Bree felt like she was dreaming. Her mind had left her body for some reason, and the girl found herself saying, "Come on, he doesn't like me."

They all gave Bree shifty looks. "Huh, how interesting…" they drawled.

Bree briefly entertained the idea of Conner crushing on her. Being in middle school, Bree had her fair knowledge of silly crushes and fragile "romances", but she had never crushed on someone yet. But she thought Conner was probably too childish to have a proper crush on someone. The girl rolled her eyes. "Just because he trips in front of me doesn't mean he likes me."

"Yeah, but you're missing the point," Danielle insisted. Bree thought it was pretty ironic, because when people gossiped about her relationship with Fred, she hated it, but she sure did like asking Bree about her non-existent love life. "He tripped because he was staring at you. _That's_ something else."

"Maybe I had something on my face or he just thought I looked weird," Bree focused on washing her clothes. Thankfully it wasn't her favourite or her newest piece of clothing.

"Uh-huh," the girls said in disbelief.

Danielle leaned closer to Bree and whispered in her ear, "I share English with you, you know. And I see Conner Bailey looking at you during class time too…"

Bree raised an eyebrow. Danielle wasn't a liar (unless it came to who she had a crush on), but perhaps she had gotten the facts wrong. It was _she_ who had been observing Conner, not the other way round. However, Bree always felt she made eye contact with Conner too easily. Maybe they were both observing the other.

But then, why would Conner look at her? Bree searched her mind and came back to her starting point; she had started to observe Conner because he was weird. Maybe Conner had observed her because he thought she was weird too.

Bree's head began to hurt from thinking too much. The entire "mutual observation" thing was a little too much for her.

Or, theory two: Conner had realized she knew something about his funny aura, and was trying to see how much she knew in order to protect his secret.

"I know what you're thinking," Danielle patted Bree's head, to the latter's chagrin. "You think there's a mystery. You think he's hiding a secret. But actually, the only secret he has is that he likes you- but that's not even a secret now."

Bree was a bit embarrassed to see how much Danielle knew about her. But Dani was probably wrong; she hadn't felt that aura. Bree had.

"You read too much," Danielle continued. "Murder mysteries don't happen in this town every day. Maybe you're complicating simple things."

"Maybe that's the case…" Bree murmured absentmindedly, but she wasn't really listening.

"If you have such an overactive imagination, you should write a book," Danielle offered.

"Hmm…" That wasn't a half bad idea in itself. Firstly, Bree did love murder mystery novels, so writing one would be a nice project. Secondly, Bree had always had decent grades in English. Thirdly, Bree thought her life was a bit boring; she didn't have much to do other than watching Conner and brainstorming theories. Injecting a bit of drama and mystery would probably make her middle school years more interesting. It was a pity that Bree didn't have much writing experience. On the other hand, her English class had just finished a unit on creative writing, so Bree had learnt some writing skills.

Bree's stomach rumbled. Even though the idea of writing a book was very intriguing, she had to have lunch first. After all, she needed energy to work.

* * *

Next day, at English, Danielle frowned when Conner entered the classroom, stumbling. She had a feeling that his clumsiness had something to do with Bree. But no matter what she said, Bree wouldn't listen to her.

Ms. York walked in the classroom, a stack of papers in her hands. Conner deduced that she was going to give out the short story assignment they had did a while ago.

Conner usually didn't have much expectations when it came to homework, but for this assignment, he hoped he had a good grade. He had put in a lot of effort in writing that story, and he had based it on his experiences in the Land of Stories.

But still, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Conner tried his best to stop his excitement from showing, but he really wanted to see what he had gotten for his story. Conner realized that writing stories was actually really fun and a good way to spend his time.

First, Ms. York explained the common mistakes the class had made. The more she droned on, the more impatient Conner became. He rocked on his chair, so fidgety that he didn't even bother to look at Bree.

When she finally finished speaking, Conner was sure the entire class had fallen asleep, except for him. He was reaching peak anxiety, fingers drumming quietly on the desk.

"But before I give out your assignments, I have something to say," Ms. York said, to Conner's dismay. The boy let out an audible sigh, but immediately regretted it, hoping the teacher hadn't heard. He didn't want to worsen his already bad impression Ms. York had on him.

"I would like to talk about Conner Bailey's work." Ms. York clicked her mouse and a digital scan of Conner's messy handwritten story appeared on the screen. "His story was the most creative one I had seen for years. He used a variety of techniques like irony and metaphors. Vivid vocabulary was used to describe the characters, making them seem like they were real (at this, Conner snorted, because the "characters" were so very real). I recommend reading his story, it is a witty work with Mr. Bailey's signature humour."

Bree was surprised that Conner was good at writing stories. She suddenly had an urge to read his work and see what kind of writing style he had. As someone who was interested in writing, she wanted to learn about what people her age wrote.

Conner was pleased and blushed at his teacher's comment, while the class looked at him. He was so glad that he had somehow managed to get into Ms. York's good books. When he received his marked story, he was bursting with pride, his face glowing.

Bree was glad that she had received a pretty high score too. It was probably nowhere on par with Conner's, but she was still happy.

After the lesson had ended, a bunch of people crowded around Conner, dying to see what he had written to catch Ms. York's attention. Conner's paper was passed from student to student. Bree had wanted to take a look too, but she could see Danielle standing to the side. She didn't want to do anything that might arouse Dani's suspicion.

Bree flipped through her papers and decided to go to Ms. York's desk and ask her teacher a question. Ms. York was genuinely happy to see a student so invested into their work. After their conversation, most of the other classmates had already left the room.

"Thanks for your advice," Bree said politely.

"Are you interested in writing too?" Ms. York asked.

"Yeah, a little," Bree admitted. She said goodbye and packed her stuff, and saw a few pieces of paper laying on a desk, its owner clearly gone. The girl strode towards the desk and picked the papers up. It was Conner's story. Some kid had probably left it behind without giving it to Conner.

 _Hmm, so that's his story._ She curiously read a few lines, and immediately found herself hooked. Bree slowly walked out, totally immersed in Conner's story. She peered at the numerous kids in the corridor, but she couldn't see Conner. Nonplussed, Bree thought, "I'll just give it to him next time."

Bree looked down at Conner's story, a smile on her face. His story was really cute and it reminded her of a fairy tale. She wondered where he had gotten his idea.

Little did she know it came from an actual land of fairy tales.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm really sorry for the two month long absence! Writer's block and school got me. Aaaand I have a bunch of homework to do for spring break.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews! I really love reading them! Shoutout to** _ **Hedgehog28**_ **for giving me the support and motivation when I needed it most (that is, a day ago).**

 **Also, just in case it's a bit confusing:**

 **1\. Conner doesn't know he has a crush on Bree**

 **2\. Bree doesn't know Conner has a crush on her**

 **3\. Bree isn't entirely sure about her "feelings" for Conner but she doesn't think she has a crush on him**

 **4\. Fred has a vague idea that Conner likes Bree, but he doesn't know who Bree is**

 **5\. Danielle is just guessing, but she wants to believe Conner is crushing on Bree**

 **With that said, the next chapter will contain a certain** _ **realization…**_ **I'll leave that to your imagination ;)**

 **Please read and review! Thanks! :D**

 **(PS: This story reached 25k words!)**

 **5/4/2018**


	7. Chapter 6: False Obsession Turned Real

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 6: False Obsession Turned Real 

The chilly autumn wind blew past Alex, strands of her strawberry blonde hair fluttering up. The girl shivered, glad that she had chosen to wear a long-sleeved shirt that day.

The weather was gradually getting colder. Conner had met up with a bunch of boys on their way to school, so he began to chat with them, leaving Alex to the side. Alex didn't really mind though; a bit of peace and quiet would do her good.

"Good morning!" a familiar voice perked, and Alex turned to see a grinning Fred. He looked suspiciously awake in the morning and there was a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Good morning," Alex returned the courtesy. "What have you got here, Freddie?"

Fred gave her a wicked smirk. "I know who Conner likes."

Alex sighed. "Of _course_ you do." It wasn't much of a surprise, really. She knew Fred would do everything in his power to find out his best friend's crush.

"Soooo… you interested in knowing who?" the boy leaned down ("He's so tall," Alex thought) and whispered.

Alex pondered her choices. On one hand, she respected her brother's privacy; but on the other hand, she wanted to know whether his crush would be suitable for Conner. She weighted the two options in her head for a few seconds, then finally said, "Are you a hundred percent sure you have it right?"

"Two hundred percent," he replied, his smile as big as a Cheshire cat's. Alex was rather amused how this topic had Fred wide-eyed in the early hours of the day.

"Alright. But don't tell anyone else," Alex said in a hushed tone.

"It's Bree Campbell," Fred whispered in her ear, and straightened his back, acting as if nothing had happened. "Do you know her?"

"Ah," Alex wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't say she was surprised because she didn't know what type of people Conner fancied. "Yes, she's in my Social Studies class."

"By the way, Freddie, can I ask you for a favour?" Alex asked.

"Anything," Fred cocked his head.

"Can you try to keep Conner from falling down and smashing into walls? I'm a bit concerned for his safety."

"And image," Fred added. "I don't want him to look stupid in front of his potential girlfriend." He saw Alex's exasperated look, and immediately said, "All right, I'll help Conner."

"Fred!" Conner interrupted them from the side, blue eyes narrowing. "The heck are two talking about?"

The other boy batted his eyelashes innocently. "Homework," he gave a simple reply and returned to the mob of boys.

 _Bree Campbell._ Alex remembered the girl was smart and wasn't gossipy. She was also excellent at Social Studies. Once, during a free period, Alex had seen Bree reading a mystery novel while their other classmates chattered loudly. Alex thought that if she had the courage to talk to Bree, they might become good friends.

… To be honest, from what she'd seen of Bree, Alex wouldn't mind if Conner liked her. She seemed like a pretty sensible person.

Although, a little part of Alex was scared that she might not be the closest female figure in Conner's life anymore. Conner was one of the few that truly understood her, and she couldn't bear to have him gone from her life. But of course, a mere significant other couldn't tear them apart. They were twins, after all. Twins that happened to have gone on the adventure of their lives.

But at least she understood what, or rather who had caused Conner's strange behavior. Alex sneaked a look at her twin. His hair was brushed and his clothes were tidy. She'd noticed that Conner had begun to take care of his looks ever since the school year had started. And he'd even begun to look forward to school. Was it also linked to Conner's feelings for Bree?

Alex fidgeted with her clothes, a bit jealous. Here she was, as Conner's twin, trying to persuade him to work hard and be more organized ever since they were kids. She had tried for years and years with little to no result, but then this random girl had to barge in and achieve what she had been trying to do for a long time.

The girl sighed, embarrassed by her extreme feelings. Bree probably didn't know the effect she had on Conner, and Conner was just changing his behavior subconsciously. It wasn't like he would ignore his own sister's advice. And Alex had never had a crush on someone, so she wouldn't know the power of puppy love.

* * *

 _Just do it, Bree._

Bree stared at the sheets of papers in her hand. Thinking about them created a fluttery warm feeling in her stomach. Bree bit her lip. By then, she wasn't unused to the feeling, but it was still a little unsettling.

 _Come on, is it that hard to talk to Conner?_

Bree felt like a terrible person. She liked Conner's story so much, she kept it for a few days instead of approaching him immediately. She was such a coward for not returning his story.

But yet, somehow, she couldn't even look at his direction. She shuffled her books so they covered the sheets of paper. Bree didn't want anyone to see her hoarding Conner's story. It was embarrassing and creepy.

"Conner, did you find it?" a boy's voice asked. There was the sound of rummaging and a few books falling to the ground. "Nope," Conner's voice replied. "Man, I wish I'd been more careful."

 _Conner must be looking for his story_ , Bree theorized. The correct thing to do was to give him back his story that he rightfully owned, but just hearing Conner speak made her feel nervous for no reason. But she also felt guilty for indirectly hiding his belongings from him. Maybe that was why she felt so weird.

And Bree hated it when she didn't know what was going on inside her. Perhaps the reason for her emotions was the shame she felt for not returning Conner's story. So she could remove the root of the guilt and shame by giving the papers to Conner.

The girl slowly slid the papers out from underneath her book, and made her way to the boys. _Put on an unaffected look_ , Bree reminded herself again and again. Her sisters and friends had told her that they often didn't know what she was thinking because of her neutral expression, and now Bree could put that to good use.

Conner looked very troubled as he puffed at the bangs that hung over his forehead. His roundish face was flushed (his face was always so red around Bree, she wondered if he had a skin disorder) and he was half-heartedly picking up the books strewn on the floor.

"Are you looking for this?" Bree stepped forward, the papers held in her hand. Conner's mouth hung open at the sight of her and he let the book in his hand slip and clatter to the ground.

 _Wait… why is she talking to me? And is that… my story?_

Conner's heart rate accelerated and his face broke into the widest smile Bree had ever seen. "Hey… you have it! I thought I had lost it forever!"

"I kept it for you," Bree found herself saying. Conner reached for the papers and his hand brushed past hers, leading to a tingling sensation that both parties felt. Conner's face reddened further and he quickly snatched the papers to avoid making a fool of himself.

Bree wanted to say that she greatly admired Conner's writing, but something, or someone was distracting her. She swore Conner's face had literally glowed when he realized his story wasn't lost. It was endearing and cute in a way, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw how happy he was.

 _Is this the effects of his aura?_

… And yet, Bree hadn't felt that warm twist in her stomach when she had first sensed Conner's aura.

"Thanks, Bree." He put his story safely in his folder. Bree was sure Conner wasn't that organized at the start of the school, but oh well, people could change.

Bree had thought about Conner and her emotions for too long and she had missed her chance to tell him she loved his story. Slipping on her impassive mask, the girl walked away, heart thumping. She hoped she looked normal and not someone with weird emotions clashing inside her.

If she'd thought giving Conner's story back could solve her complicated feelings, she was wrong.

Because after their encounter, Bree's funny warm feeling only intensified. And somehow, she knew she was powerless to it.

She had tried to solve her "problem", but it had only backfired.

A bit grumpily, she sat back down at her seat, but if she was being honest, she didn't mind that flutter in her much. She almost wished she could hate the thing that made her feel weird.

Also, Bree wondered when had she switched from being captivated by Conner's mystery to Conner himself.

Sure, Bree still wasn't going to let the mystery go, but she had to admit Conner as a person was also rather interesting. The way he smiled radiantly when he got his story back was particularly adorable.

Bree felt like a steaming pile of mush, and toyed with her lucky charm, a crescent moon, on her wrist.

For the rest of the lesson, neither Bree nor Conner could concentrate. Conner was still drunk about the fact that Bree had talked to him. It was absolutely ridiculous how even such a small action could make him go crazy. Conner swore that girl was going to be the death of him.

Bree's jittery feeling did not go away with time. She kept playing the memory of his flushed cheeks and cute smile in his head. She dazedly played with her crescent moon charm on her bracelet.

Bree didn't usually feel this way, so she was a bit afraid. She especially didn't like how Conner Bailey had made her feel that way.

The rest of the lesson passed in a blur. As if on autopilot, Bree's hands moved to take notes, but if you ask her honestly, she hadn't absorbed any information that lesson.

Bree sneaked a look at Conner, and felt her face flush. It was weird that she simultaneously wanted to be close to Conner yet away from him. She didn't like being confused, and the more she thought about it, the more confusing she became. I have to get away from Conner now.

The girl quickly packed her books and hurried out of the room, unwilling to face Conner and her friend Danielle, who would just pester her about her non-existent love life.

Bree left so quickly, she didn't notice she had left something behind.

Nor did she notice that a certain person finding it and keeping it safe for her.

Conner picked up with the crescent moon charm bracelet he had seen on the floor, and immediately knew it was Bree's. He had seen her play with it. He rubbed his finger over the smooth surface of the charm, and placed it in his pocket.

Bree had once kept Conner's story safe.

Now he would return the favour by keeping her lucky charm safe.

* * *

It didn't take long for Bree to realize something was missing.

 _Damn_ , Bree rubbed her wrist over where the bracelet used to be. The girl suspected she had either dropped it in the corridor or at her English classroom. She felt really uncomfortable without it, but she didn't have time to search for it at the moment. She could only hope she could find it when her classes ended.

Bree thought it was stupidly sentimental for her to be so hung up on misplacing a bracelet. When she was younger, a friend of hers had given it to her as a birthday gift. Bree immediately fell in love with the simple yet elegant crescent moon charm design and wore it to school everyday. That was probably why Bree started to wear a lot of bracelets. Bree wasn't particularly superstitious, but after acing a test when she wore her bracelet, it became Bree's lucky charm. Now, the girl was older, and she didn't really believe her charm had the power of luck, but she had worn it for so long, it felt immensely unnatural not to be wearing it.

During break, Bree made her way back to her English classroom, and her ever-so-curious friend Danielle followed her.

"Bree, why are you going back?" the redhead asked as they passed people on the corridors. "Did you lose something?"

"Yeah," Bree muttered, tugging her beanie in place. "Thanks for coming with me, Dani."

The duo rounded a corner and Bree suddenly felt like someone was in front of her despite she couldn't see anyone. Automatically, Bree took a step back and unsurprisingly, Conner Bailey was in front of her with his friend Fred.

 _Oh great, I can somehow sense Conner's position now._ Upon seeing the boy, Bree felt her stomach do somersaults for no reason. She suspected it wasn't just because of his aura, but Bree didn't want to think about it.

Once Danielle caught sight of Fred, she gave out a small "eep" and ducked behind Bree as if she was a shield. Bree rolled her eyes and she wanted to move, but she could see Conner's eyes were somehow transfixed on her, and that made her feel like her body had erupted in flames. Her eyes met his and Conner immediately ducked his head, a blush filling his cheeks, and a similar heat rose to Bree's face too. Next to Conner, Fred smirked when he saw Conner's reaction. Wow, the boy did have it bad.

"Umm, hi Bree, I-I was just wondering if…" Conner dug in his pocket, feeling the bracelet between his sweaty fingers. He took it out and handed it to Bree, eyes shyly cascading down. "Is this yours?"

"Oh!" It took Bree a second to react and she slipped the bracelet on her wrist, and noted the warmth of the charm against her skin. His warmth. _Okay, if that doesn't sound weird, I wonder what will._ "T-thanks, Conner."

Inwardly, a part of Bree was happy that firstly, Conner had noticed that she wore that certain bracelet, and secondly, he was nice and returned it to her. Bree had no idea why she felt so bubbly at the thought.

Conner scratched his head awkwardly and let out a laugh that sounded forced to his ears. "Haha, it's a bit funny because when I lost some of my stuff, you found it and gave it back to me, and now I'm doing the same…" he made one of his famous hand gestures and Bree's lips quirked up, amused by the boy.

Fred let out a low wolf-whistle and Conner shot him a glare. Behind Bree, Danielle giggled.

"We just… help each other out. Y'know, that bracelet is kind of my lucky charm," Bree said rather lamely, which was unusual for her because under normal circumstances, Bree had a reaction to everything. Having Conner around was not a normal circumstance because Bree knew she felt funny around him. And she wasn't sure if it was a bad thing or a good thing.

"Now I guess we're each other's _lucky charms_ ," Conner said without thinking, and he immediately regretted his words, because Fred, Bree and Danielle were looking at him like he'd grown an extra head. _Oh, crap._ His heartbeat accelerated and he found himself stupidly stammering, "Uhh, umm, yeah that was super cringy don't mind me haha what a crappy joke-"

"We gotta go!" Fred announced loudly and rather obviously. He couldn't let his best friend embarrass himself in front of his crush. That was the least Fred could do to support Conner and his misadventures in love. He grabbed Conner's arm and dragged the boy away.

"Well, that was super smooth," Danielle commented after the boys went away. "So, I guess you found your lost item."

Bree stuffed her hands in her pockets, a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts inside her brain. _What the heck was that? And why do I care so much?_

"Hello, back to earth!" Danielle waved a hand in front of Bree's face. Danielle frowned slightly as Bree wasn't one to stare off into space dreamily.

Bree was broken out of her stupor. She tried to force the heat out of her cheeks with no results. "Umm, yeah, let's go to our next class."

Danielle stared suspiciously at Bree, but decided not to mention anything yet. "Alright, let's go."

* * *

Conner Bailey was officially an interesting person.

Well, at least to Bree.

She noticed his constantly flushed cheeks and floppy auburn hair, which somehow reminded her of an adorable puppy.

(Seriously, what was wrong with her? A boy reminded her of a cute animal?)

And there was also the fact his face turned red every time she caught sight of him. He also stumbled over his own limbs and used crazy arm gestures.

In contrary to what Bree had thought during the beginning of the school year, Conner was starting to bother her less and less, until Bree kind of liked seeing Conner around.

Her eyes were also weirdly attracted to the boy, and Bree somehow made note of every thing about him. Including how Conner almost always wore green and blue shirts and jeans. How he disliked wearing baseball caps. How he had a thing for superhero movies. How he refused to join any sports team because he said he was a "couch potato". How Conner's most-worn hoodie was that shade of navy blue, and everytime Bree saw anything in that colour she was reminded of him. How Bree's heart skipped a beat when she saw some random guy on the streets wearing the same backpack as Conner did.

Great, Bree was now a stalker like Mindy, Cindy, Lindy and Wendy.

And she wasn't even stalking him because of the mystery about him and his sister.

Bree still didn't have a lot of clues and concrete theories about the Bailey Twins Mystery, but she was still very much attracted to the case. So much that she began to be attracted to Conner Bailey…

Bree vehemently bit her lip, trying rid of the thoughts in her mind.

She was stalking him because she found him interesting. Bree genuinely thought the boy had an interesting character. He was always so clumsy and dramatic, yet he was well liked by everybody, including Bree. At first, she had disapproved of him but now he had somehow won her over.

Was it his humour? Personal charm? Confidence? Charisma?

Bree was immensely confused. Not knowing what to do, she chose to glare at Conner's auburn head from behind during English class.

They had changed seats for a group project for easier discussion. As the teacher droned on and on, Bree tried to focus but ultimately ended up being distracted by Conner, who was a few seats in front of her. That warm, gooey feeling that she always got when Conner was around fluttered inside her again.

Danielle, who was sitting beside her, tilted her head. Bree was unusually concentrated on staring at something. Danielle followed her eyes, and unsurprisingly, Bree was looking at Conner. A little smirk graced Danielle's lips, and she edged closer to her friend.

"Bree... Do you like Conner? 'Cause you always look at him," she asked slyly.

Bree blinked.

"W-what? No. It's not what you think," Bree almost snapped. That, of course, raised suspicions.

Because Danielle knew Bree didn't usually snap, nor did she usually stammer.

"Uh-huh," Danielle said disbelievingly.

"Don't give me that look," Bree muttered. "You don't like it when people tease you about Fred, right? So don't do the same."

To be honest, Bree was almost afraid of Danielle's accusations. She didn't want to have a crush. She didn't want people to know she had a crush, if she ever had one. She disliked people prying in her emotions, so she always kept her cool. She lied to conceal what she felt because she thought it was better for her and for everyone.

But suddenly, this Conner Bailey came barrelling in and smashed all of her walls. He made her feel weird and warm. He made her nervous and agitated. He made her feel like she wasn't in control of her emotions.

Bree hated it.

But yet, he excited her. He lead her to think about possibilities and theories. He was an outlet for all of her creative energy. What was he hiding? Why did he have that aura? He made her think so much it hurt, and Bree, who loved challenges, enjoyed it. He was a mystery, and she liked mysteries.

Weirdly enough, he also made her happy.

His clumsiness stopped being annoying and instead became endearing. She liked how flushed his face was. She liked how his cheeks looked so squishable. She liked seeing him at school. She liked reading his writing, which brought her to another, fantastical land. A land of stories and imagination. She liked it. She liked _him_.

Bree stopped and her pen clattered to her desk.

Wait, _what_?

She _liked_ him?

She liked _Conner_?

Now she thought about it, it actually made sense. She was happy and excited around him. She liked him. She had a crush on Conner.

Bree's mind was in a whirl. She had never thought of liking someone at her age. She had always assumed she would find someone later in her life. Actually, Bree was pretty sure she could manage well on her own if she couldn't find a partner.

But this was some random boy at her middle school. Bree thought she was definitely not mature enough for a relationship or whatever. But a little crushing wouldn't hurt, right?

 _I like him_ , Bree thought and a faint blush rose on her cheeks.

At first, she had just been obsessing over the Bailey Twins Mystery, but somehow, it evolved into her obsessing over Conner himself.

Her "false" obsession with what Conner seemed like had turned into a "real" obsession with who Conner really was.

Panic bubbled inside her. Bree had never had a crush on anyone before. It was so new to her, but yet she was a bit excited for what would happen.

 _What do I do now?_

* * *

 **A/N: It's been a couple of tough months… sorry about that. I'm also kind of stuck on writer's block for this story ≥﹏≤ so feedback is very much appreciated!**

 **So Bree knows about her crush now… what will happen next? And yeah Conner is as oblivious as ever. I hope my portrayal of Bree is decent because I kind of feel like characterisation is my strong point… She's a bit OOC now because she started to crush on Conner.**

 **(And yeah that's why this story is named False Obsession Turned Real.)**

 **Thanks for reading! Please review! Your reviews make me so happy! :D**

 **30/6/2018**


	8. Chapter 7: Crush or be Crushed

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: I'm going to introduce some OCs (Bree's sisters) in this chapter, so I hope you won't be too overwhelmed and confused.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Crush or Be Crushed

 _I like Conner Bailey._

Bree Campbell laid face down in her bed, her comfortable sheets and blanket doing little to soothe her mind.

Bree had finally come to terms with her crush on Conner.

At least Conner was a decent guy, and she wasn't genetically programmed to like jerks, which seemed to be the case for her sisters. They kept on obsessing over "bad boys". Bree had no idea why people would want an overly possessive, manipulative and generally super unhealthy significant other.

Maybe it was because Bree herself was a "bad girl" more than a "good girl". Bree was an adrenaline junkie and she loved doing risky things. She would probably be attracted to a "good boy" for balance and stability.

Except Conner Bailey didn't seem like the typical "good boy". His grades were fluctuating (yes, Bree noticed that), he was very clumsy, and he wasn't a "conventional hot boy" (his best friend, Fred, was one though). Yet, Bree could see that Conner truly had a good heart, which efficiently differentiated him from the jerks. Half of the boys at her school seemed to be jerks and womanizers.

Great, a few days upon discovering her feelings, Bree was already comparing Conner (her _crush_!) to other boys, and already somehow wondering about their compatibility.

Bree rolled over and her eyes wandered idly over the numerous books on her wooden shelves.

 _I don't need a boyfriend at this age,_ Bree thought. _My grades and my personal development are the most important things to me at this stage._

Yes, Bree was a sensible girl. Even if with her independence and her advocate for gender equality, she wasn't all "this girl doesn't need a man!". Bree, being a sensible person, _did_ realize that a significant other could help her grow as a person. Bree was all about balance, so if her _potential_ significant other's personality had distinct differences from her's, it would be good for both of them-

Bree slapped her hand over her forehead. Great. Bree, the new Romantic Idealist. She was comforted that even when approaching topics such as romance, she did so in a somewhat logical way. It proved she hadn't completely changed.

"Hey! Bree!" somebody rapped the door. "Evie and Amy just baked some cookies, you want some?"

Bree opened the door. Her middle sister Genevieve "Gen" stood there with crossed arms and sharp blue eyes. She blew out a pink bubblegum bubble then she popped it. "Sounds nice," Bree said, and the two sisters went downstairs to the kitchen together.

Bree had always thought that she and her three younger sisters were some sort of joke. All of them were blonde and had nicknames for their longer, official names. Bree's real name was Breanne, but everybody called her Bree until Bree almost thought Bree was her real name. Evelyn "Evie" was a year younger than Bree, with wavy blonde hair that she put in a little ponytail, and a heart of gold. Evie was one of the most popular girls in her year due to her friendly nature. Bree thought Evie was a born leader, a rare one that didn't boss others around.

Genevieve was a year younger than Evie, and the family rebel. Her hair was in a short bob with purple streaks, and she loved bubblegum. Gen had a thing for photography, and her room was filled with photos of various places.

Amelia "Amy" was the youngest sister, and a year younger than Gen. Bree could often see Amy's enthusiasm in her big, baby blue eyes. Amy's passion was in conserving the environment, and she owned a hamster.

The Campbell sisters were like a staircase, each one a year younger than the previous sister. Bree privately thought her parents must have had some great family planning. She entered the brightly lit, clean kitchen. Evie was busily washing cooking utensils, a few dollops of soap on her plaid red apron. Chocolate chip cookies were laid on two baking trays. Amy peered at then eagerly, her eyes alight.

"Wow, they look good," Bree complimented. "Why the sudden baking spree?"

"The boy that Amy's crushing on likes cookies," Evie explained, her back facing her three sisters. "So we decided to bake some and save some for him."

"Ooh!" Gen grinned, her blue eyes lighting up. "Aww, Amy, that's so cute!"

"Aren't you a bit too young for that?" Bree directed her question to Amy.

Amy blushed and twisted a strand of hair. "Well, you can't exactly control who you like and when you start to like them. That's the way fate works."

Bree sighed. She was the only sister who didn't have a great interest in romance, and it could get a bit unbearable in a household full of romantics. Although now, even if Bree decided to ignore her crush, she still thought it would be healthy for her to know more about romance. After all, there was no harm in being curious about a perfectly normal thing.

"Hey! Bree? Back to earth!"

Bree blinked as Gen snapped her fingers in front of her face. "Ah, I'm alive," she said drily.

Gen made a face and stared hard at Bree. "Did you just _space out_?" She said the last two words as if Bree had suddenly sprouted two heads.

"Are you ill?" Evie immediately asked, concern written on her face.

"No! I'm fine. I was just thinking," Bree assured them. Sure, they were sisters by blood and bond, but she didn't want to share her crush with them. One, Bree, despite being good with people, actually kept her feelings under lock and key. Two, knowing her sappy sisters, they would probably offer tons of impractical advice and say "oooh" a lot. Bree didn't want that.

(Besides, Bree was the eldest sister, _she_ should be the one to offer advice.)

"Thinking about what?" Amy asked, eyes big and focused on Bree.

"Is it a boy?" Evie remarked teasingly, the corners of her lips quirking up.

Bree sighed. "No! I was just going through one of the Agatha Christie mysteries in my head! They're really thought provoking. You guys should really read _Murder on the Orient Express_ instead of those unhealthy online bad boy stories."

All three of them gasped as if Bree had deeply wounded them.

"Bad boys are _cool_!" Gen exclaimed.

"And hot!" Evie added.

"And they're just poor, misunderstood souls!" Amy finished.

Bree made a mock gagging face. "Bad boys are manipulative and they can get you pregnant. Pregnant! An instant no-no. But yeah, I respect your _wrong_ opinion."

Evie grabbed a towel and threw it at Bree. Bree stepped aside and the towel hit a wall instead.

"Girls! What's up with that noise!" a new voice called, and a new woman entered the kitchen. She was Jennifer "Jenny" Campbell, mother of four, and altogether a very practical and organized suburban mom.

Bree wondered if the trend of "long names short nicknames" started with her mom.

Evie gave her a hundred watt smile. "Hey Mom! Do you want a cookie!"

Jennifer had a cookie and instantly smiled. "Sweetie, this is really good. Did you use my recipe? The exclusive one I use for PTA baking sales?"

"Yeah."

Jennifer leaned against the kitchen counter. "Well, don't reveal this recipe to anyone outside this family. It's been in my family for generations."

Evie rolled her eyes. "Alrighty," she drawled.

Amy took a few cookies and delicately slipped them into a plastic bag. Then she ran up the stairs to change and went back. Bree noticed the clothes she wore were her favourite ones. "I'm going out!" Amy cried.

"To give the cookies to _him_?" Gen and Evie chorused with identical smirks, deliberately drawing out the "him".

Pink dots appeared on Amy's cheeks. "Y-yeah, so what?"

"I'll accompany you, Amy," Bree said and swiped a cookie. She crunched that sugary goodness in her mouth. _Mmm, they taste out of this world._ "It's dangerous for you to be alone. Wait for me while I change."

(Actually, Bree just wanted to see if that boy was worthy of her sister. Bree vaguely recalled seeing him, a skinny boy with a generic Bible name (Joseph? John?) around, but she never knew much first hand information about him. She didn't trust what Amy thought of him; she probably idolized him.)

As Bree dug through her wardrobe, she frowned when she discovered something was missing.

Bree dashed to her door and flung it open. "Genevieve! Did you steal my leather jacket?" she yelled down the hallway.

Gen's voice rang the corridor. "I would prefer the word 'borrow'!"

Bree grunted then immediately strode towards Gen's room. One of the many downsides of having three sisters was the constant "borrowing" of clothing (another one was the overly emotional mess that would happen during "shark week"). She opened the door with more force than necessary and snatched her jacket from Gen's wardrobe.

"Seriously, Bree, are you okay?" Gen called from downstairs. "You usually have some sort of weird "jacket radar" and sense that someone has borrowed your jacket, but it's been two days since I took it! I wore it on Friday and now it's Sunday."

 _That was because I spent the last two days agonizing over my stupid feelings,_ Bree thought, but she didn't say it. She put on her jacket in one fluid motion, and tapped Amy on the shoulder. Amy was staring at her reflection in a glossy table. "Amy, let's go."

"Do I look okay?" Amy peeped nervously.

"Yeah, you look fine," Bree replied, brushing stray strands of golden hair from Amy's round face. "I hope this crush of yours doesn't measure you using appearances."

"Oh, no!" Amy's face lit up the way one would do when talking about their crush. "He's not shallow at all, you know, the other day he said…"

Bree resigned herself to ten minutes of lovesick gibberish from her sister. She securely screwed her signature purple beanie on her head, grabbed Amy's arm, and began to drag her out of the house. "See you later," she said to Gen and Evie.

"Tell me if something interesting happens with him!" Evie waved and winked.

"I will!" Amy cried, while Bree did an internal facepalm. _Not everything is about boys and romance..._

* * *

"Conner, _don't do that._ "

Conner looked back at his sister with a playful smirk, then back at the pile of autumn leaves on the ground.

Alex stared at him, and said slowly, "Conner, you are not a kid. You have better things to do."

"Too late!" Conner gave a gleeful shout and jumped into the pile of leaves, red and brown flying everywhere. His cacophonous laugh rang throughout the place.

"Dude!" Fred exclaimed, a rake in his hand. He used the butt of the rake to poke Conner. "This is _my_ house and I can technically kick you off _my_ lawn if you cause more trouble."

Conner rolled his eyes. "Aww come on, that was my pile of leaves." He gestured to two other leaf piles. "I didn't touch yours."

The trio were raking leaves at Fred's house. Fred, who was from a upper middle class family, was more well-off than the twins even before their father died. Fred's mother and Charlotte had always been good friends, and when Fred's family offered to give them financial aid after John Bailey's death, Charlotte had refused. Still, the Hayfords were of great emotional support to the Baileys, and they were forever grateful for them.

After the twins and Charlotte moved into a small rental house, Alex and Conner would go to Fred's place to hang out. After playing several rounds of Mario Kart (almost ending the decade long friendship between the trio), Fred was ordered to rake the leaves in the yawn. Seeing that they had nothing to do, Conner and Alex joined in.

Conner grabbed his rake and studied it. "You know what this reminds me of? Swords. Let's sword fight!"

Alex was dutifully sweeping the leaves. "Conner, you've had your share of being a kid today. Now get back to business."

Unfortunately for Alex, her words only seemed to have spiked something in Conner, and his eyes shone with unsuppressed excitement.

" _Let's get down to business!_ " the boy belted out, referencing the iconic song from Disney's _Mulan_ , "To rake," Conner tried to spin his rake, "the LEAVES!"

Fred and Alex stared at their friend with identical expressions that was mixed with shock, amusement, and exasperation.

"Dear God," Fred whispered.

"This is what I have to put up with every day," Alex mumbled under her breath.

Conner continued to leap around, leaves flying up when he stepped on them. He tried to imitate the song's music video by waving the rake, and the rake nearly smacked him in the face. "Did they send me leaves, when I asked for…" There was a pause as he thought. "No leaves!"

"Man, he's bad at lyrics," Fred said out loud.

"You're the saddest bunch I ever met," Conner sang to the leaves in a pseudo deep voice, practically dancing around them. "But you can bet, before we're through,"

"Mister I'll…" Conner trailed for effect. The boy dramatically pointed at the leaves he had just jumped into. "Make a leaf pile outta YOU!"

"Oh, wow. That was amazing," Fred said sarcastically. But Conner wasn't finished.

" _Be a man!_ We must be swift as a coursing river!" Conner chanted, leaping over invisible obstacles. " _Be a man!_ With all the force of a great typhoo- OW!" Conner managed to hit himself with his rake. "Erm anyways, next line… _Be a man!_ With all the strength of a raging fire…"

Conner spread his arms out as if he was declaring to the heavens. He took a deep breath, then bellowed, "MYSTERIOUS AS THE DARK SIDE OF THE-"

He suddenly caught sight of a familiar blonde walking on the pavement. A _way_ too familiar blonde.

Conner stared at Bree.

Bree stared at Conner.

Somewhere on a tree, a crow cawed.

"-moon." Conner peeped, finishing the song.

There was a pregnant pause.

No one knew how to react.

Conner realized Bree wasn't alone. A younger girl was with her, and he assumed they were sisters.

"Hey hey _hello_ ," Fred bounded over and practically shoved Conner to the side. "Bree Campbell!" The boy leaned against his rake in an attempt to look suave. "What brings you here?"

Bree gave him a funny look. "Oh, I was just, uh, accompanying my sister." She kept shooting stares at Conner, who was frozen with mortification.

Alex had chosen to hide behind the conveniently thick trunk of a nearby tree. _I am not associated with these idiots. I am not associated with these idiots._

"I'll be… going," Bree said cautiously. Giving Conner one last look, she took Amy's hand and they walked away.

Conner's head was a whirlwind of _ohmygodIscrewedupcrapcrapCRAPshehatesmeshehatesmesomuch._ Did he just completely embarrass himself by loudly singing a (confessedly catchy) Disney song? The boy fell to the ground and wringed his hair, then let out a strangled cry.

"Ha, ha," Alex muttered. "See, Conner, this is why you don't spontaneously sing _I'll Make a Man Out Of You_ in public."

* * *

"That guy was super weird," Amy remarked after the duo was a fair distance away from the Hayford residence.

Bree shrugged, trying to hide her pounding heart. "We actually share English classes," she stated in a way she hoped was casual.

"Really?" Amy exclaimed, and looked up at her sister. "Must be bad for you."

"He's usually not so… loud." Bree didn't know why she was defending Conner. Scratch that, Bree was at a _complete loss_ when it came to the matter of Conner Bailey.

Firstly, there was the Bailey Twins Mystery, which was one of the most challenging things Bree had come upon.

And then, her stupid, unexplainable feelings for Conner. He kept on making a fool out of himself, was clumsy, impulsive, and painfully blunt. Why, of all people, did she have to fall for him, the class clown, the complete weirdo?

But she was reminded that he was also righteous, funny, and kind. Did that make up for his super weird actions? Probably not.

That scene she had just witnessed was so bad it was funny. Conner was a born performer even if he was doing silly singing. He was actually immensely entertaining to watch, but like most people, Bree had been shocked by him. But there was a certain charm to his childish ways.

Bree began to secretly list Conner Bailey's traits in her head.

 _1\. His expressions are priceless._

 _2\. He isn't a bad singer_ (yes, Bree was surprised to know that).

 _3\. He makes me want to laugh for some reason._

Bree self consciously adjusted her beanie. She didn't understand why she liked… silly dorks like Conner. Maybe instead of being genetically programmed to like bad boys, she was genetically programmed to like silly dorks. At least the former sounded worse than the latter.

Well, what was done was done. She had a crush on Conner and she had no idea how to get rid of it. Might as well get used to being affected by every single thing Conner did.

 _What do normal people do when they get crushes? Do they gush over them 24/7? Do they send out secret love letters? Do they ask their friends to set them up?_

Bree did not want a boyfriend! One might say they wanted a normal life, but Bree's wish, was quite frankly, the opposite.

Bree wanted a life of adventure and thrill.

And Conner was probably the most exciting thing that had happened to Bree.

So she had to put up with her teeny tiny crush to quench her thirst for excitement.

"Bree? Bree! Your face is red!"

Amy's voice brought Bree back to the land of living. "Really?" Bree patted her cheeks, but they always seemed warm to her, so she couldn't tell the difference.

Amy's face was full of concern. "Maybe you've caught the cold? We should go back as quick as possible."

"Nah, I'm fine," Bree gave a dismissive wave. _I just caught the disease known as romantic attraction,_ she added internally.

"We're here!" Amy announced cheerfully. Bree stared at modern, sleek house.

"He's rich," was the first two words Bree blurted out. Bree knew Amy wasn't that shallow to like someone because of their wealth, but still.

Amy rang the doorbell and stood stiffly, shifting on her legs. A few moments later, a boy around Amy's age opened the door. "Hi, Amy," he said, and gave a polite nod towards Bree. She nodded in return.

Bree side eyed her sister, whose face had gone pink. _Blushing is a common symptom of crushing,_ she thought.

"Honey, who is it?" a voice called from indoors. Bree assumed it was that boy's mother.

"It's my friend!" he yelled back, then quickly turned back. "Oh, umm, yeah, why are you here?"

Bree saw a weird big grin on Amy's face. "Uh, umm, I m-made some cookies but I made too much of them, and I heard that you like cookies, so I thought 'hey, you might want some' so I, umm, took some cookies for you," Amy finished breathlessly. She handed the plastic bag filled with cookies to the boy. "I, uh, hope you like chocolate chip."

Bree could sense many lies in Amy's speech. Firstly, Amy had baked the cookies for him, so him getting cookies wasn't because she had baked too much. Secondly, Amy probably knew the boy liked chocolate chip because his eyes immediately widened.

"Thanks," he said quickly and grabbed the bag. He peered at the cookies with utmost excitement. Amy giggled at his expression and Bree shot her a look.

"Y'know, you can have a taste now." Amy's smile was practically frozen in place with delight.

"Oh, okay." The two sisters watched as he put one cookie in his mouth and ate a little chunk of it.

 _Note to self: the boy did not eat the entire cookie in one go. Let's assume he has good eating manners._

While Bree was analyzing the boy's actions, happiness bubbled inside Amy when she saw her crush's obvious enjoyment. He finished the cookie, swallowed, then said, "This is good. _Really_ good. You're a great baker, Amy."

Amy fidgeted with her skirt, her cheeks almost glowing at the praise. Bree was glad to see her sister so happy. "I'm not that good," she replied modestly. "I used my mom's recipe."

"Kudos to your mom," the boy replied, looking at his cookies as if they were the greatest treasure ever. It was almost amusing for Bree to watch. His eyes shone, and he said, "Is there any chance I can get the recipe?"

"Sorry, it's a family secret."

A witty comment popped up in Bree's mind. "Well, I suppose you marry into the family, you can also get the recipe," Bree remarked nonchalantly.

Upon hearing Bree, a brilliant flush spread around Amy's cheeks, and the young girl felt like she was on fire. "Umm…"

The boy seemed as oblivious as ever. Or maybe he was just a master at hiding his feelings. Bree didn't know.

There was silence.

"Uh I gotta go!" Amy squeaked. "Bye, see you at school!"

The boy blinked. "Alright, see you on Monday."

Once the door closed, Amy hissed loudly, "Why did you say that, Bree?!"

"I was trying to play wingman," Bree shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe he'll marry you because of cookies."

Amy exhaled, puffing at her blonde hair on her forehead. "But I don't want him to like cookies more than he likes me…"

* * *

"Wow, Conner's such an idiot."

"I agree," Alex sighed, swinging her legs from a bench. "But you weren't much better than him. Did you just _flirt_ with his crush? That's low."

"I was just trying to to take the attention away from Conner," Fred defended himself. He was next to Alex on the bench. "I panicked."

"Soo," Alex gave him a piercing stare. "Your natural instinct is to flirt?

Fred laughed weirdly, feeling a bit intimidated by Alex. "Yeaaaaah… I guess…"

The duo had finished sweeping most of the leaves in piles. Conner was so embarrassed, he ducked into the house and would probably stay there until Bree was away from the neighbourhood, or the invasion of aliens, whichever happened first.

"Freddie, I can tell you a lot of girls don't like boys that flirt with everyone, so if you're trying to get a girlfriend, keep this in mind," Alex reminded him in her characteristic sensible way. She moved closer to Fred. "Do you have anyone you like, anyway?"

"No," Fred replied quickly, perhaps too quickly. But Alex didn't dwell on that. She hoped Freddie would find a suitable partner. She had known Fred almost as long she had known Conner, so he was kind of like her other annoying brother. "How about you, Alex?"

"No, I'm not focusing on that right now," Alex replied, her eyes following a leaf that fluttered through the air. Fred watched Alex with a small grin on his face, then spun back to the front.

"Hey, Alex, if someone breaks your heart, I got your back, yeah? Me and Conner."

"Well, that's reassuring. I'll call you if something happens," Alex joked lightly.

Unknownst to them, Bree and Amy walked past again and saw Fred and Alex talking.

Bree privately thought it was an interesting combination. If it wasn't for Conner, she wondered if the two would get along well. Fred was an infamous flirt with an enthusiasm for basketball, while Alex was a quiet bookworm.

It would be funny if they got together. Bree was sure Conner would throw a fit. His two best friends getting married to each other.

What was she even thinking? Why was she wondering about other people's compatibility with each other when she barely knew them?

This romance thing was destroying her mind.

Bree should learn to have better control of her emotions.

* * *

When Bree went back to school, she had a tiny (okay, maybe not so tiny) list of what she called "crush symptoms". She had gathered her list from observation, research, and (ugh) personal experience.

 _1\. Blushing_

Blushing was an incredibly common symptom. Amy did it. Bree did it too, but she was training herself to hide it.

 _2\. Rambling_

People tended to get nervous around their crushes, and when they tried to talk, their sentences usually came out in choppy and incomprehensible phrases.

 _3\. Weird chuckling/ giggling/ any form of laughter_

Bree remembered when she had laughed because of something ridiculous Conner did. She also recalled Amy's funny laugh when she talked to her crush.

 _4\. Spacing off_

Spacing off was exactly how her family noticed Bree was behaving strangely. Bree hated this. Usually, she was a great at multitasking and could think and be alert at the same time, but when it came to her sappy romance stuff, it was as if she had been disconnected from real life.

Bree was still trying to list out the symptoms when she caught sight of Conner, which immediately distracted her. Conner was staring at a fixed point while Fred was talking.

"Dude? Dude! Are you listening?" Fred lightly hit Conner on the head. He had a frown on his face.

"Yeah of course I am!" Conner replied quickly, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

Fred sighed and patted Conner on the shoulder. "Don't get too worked up about that incident yesterday."

Conner flushed at the mention of it. "Dude, I just can't get it out of my mind."

Bree couldn't hear much of their conversation, but when she walked past them, she could hear Conner say, "... i-it's not like I can forget about it, because I _can't_ forget about it and neither can you because that was, uh, pretty stupid, and…"

Bree raised an eyebrow. Conner, despite being fluent and talented in writing, was pretty bad at verbal communication. He kept on repeating and used a lot of words like "uh" and "and". And did he just stutter?

 _Despite that, he's still kind of cute._

Bree's mind had just comprehended what Conner had done when Danielle approached her with an extra bounce in her step. "Hey Bree! They're recruiting for the school musical now! You wanna join?"

Bree smiled at Danielle's excitement. She knew Danielle liked to sing and dance, so a musical would be great for her.

"I'm not good at singing, but you are, so feel free to join."

"But…" Danielle's brown eyes was filled with worry. "This is our first year here and I don't have a lot of experience…"

"Oh, come on!" Bree said, spinning around to look at Danielle in the eye. "That's why you have to join to get experience, so you can get a bigger part in later years! Go for it, Dani!"

Danielle broke into a smile. "Thanks for being the reasonable voice. I'm glad you're always here to soothe my nerves."

"No problem," Bree replied automatically. She wasn't really aware that her "unaffected" attitude could help the often over excited Danielle. Bree went to her Social Studies classroom saw Alex was standing besides the door, evidently waiting for someone. When she saw Bree, Alex approached her and said, "I'm sorry for what my brother did yesterday. He was too embarrassed to talk to you, so he asked me to be the messenger owl."

To Alex's surprise, Bree let out a light laugh. "Oh, it's alright. It was even kind of funny, not in a bad way of course."

Unknownst to Bree, Alex was secretly observing Bree to see what kind of person she was. "Hey, Bree, I heard from other classes that we have a two member project for Social Studies, soooo do you want to work with me?"

Saying that was a huge leap for Alex. She never had many friends, and she avoided talking to most people. But from what she'd seen of Bree, she seemed like a nice intellectual. Besides, Alex knew Bree was good at Social Studies. And Alex didn't want to be paired up with a random person.

(Secretly, Alex also wanted to see who Bree was for herself. Maybe she could somehow introduce him to her brother and make them friends.)

"I'll be more than happy," Bree agreed readily.

Alex grinned, and Bree idly thought that her smile and Conner's were a bit similar. "Great!"

A few periods later, Bree went to her English class early. Bree sat down, put her earplugs in, and revised the materials while students filed in the classroom.

Bree suddenly felt something buzzing on her right side, almost like the way her hair reacted to static. Bree gave the door a side eye and unsurprisingly, Conner was there. Bree was a little smug of the fact that she could sense Conner and his aura, even if it was just a few seconds before everyone saw him.

Conner looked up and the two made eye contact. Suddenly, Bree liked it when Conner had messier hair. It seemed more, well, _Conner._ His imperfections were part of his charm too. Bree could feel his bright blue eyes staring into her soul, and she self consciously turned away. Her heart was thumping and there was that annoying fluttery feeling inside her again.

 _Calm down, Bree,_ the girl ordered. Bree went back to her books, but this time, she didn't wear her earplugs (yeah, she wanted to eavesdrop on whatever conversation Conner would have. It wasn't really eavesdropping if he was talking in the middle of the classroom, but just saying).

Some other boys were talking about soccer and sports. Conner joined in by adding his comments on some soccer team Bree didn't recognize.

Conner's loud laughter sounded out of nowhere, and Bree wrinkled her nose. His laughter didn't seem genuine. It was that kind of fake laughter you made when you wanted to appease someone. Who was he trying to appease, she didn't know.

A few moments later, class started. Bree forced herself to focus instead of thinking about Conner. Ms. York announced that they had a sudden oral exam, and they would have to come up with a two minute speech within five minutes. Everybody groaned, and Bree was thankful for her quick brain. She silently wondered how the stammering and stuttering Conner would fare. She knew they had an oral report at the beginning of the year, but Bree hadn't been really paying attention to Conner back then.

To Bree's pleasant surprise, Conner was actually doing good. He could entice the audience easily and like Bree had thought, he really was a natural performer. Bree found herself being drawn deeper and deeper, like a moth attracted to a flame. Except this time, it wasn't because of the Bailey Twins Mystery, it was because of Conner and who he was.

To maintain eye contact (and to prevent the deduction of points), Conner regularly looked at the class and his teacher. And one point, his eyes swept over Bree's, and Bree felt a delicious little jolt of electricity. And Bree swore that Conner's face was a bit redder than it was when he began his speech.

The class politely clapped after Conner had finished. Bree turned back to minding her business, but a realization struck Bree like a lightning bolt. The puzzle pieces began to connect and Bree felt that wondrous thrill again, the one she felt when she was reading mystery novels, the one that made her blood go alive.

 _Conner hadn't been listening to Fred earlier because he was_ _ **spacing off**_ _._

 _Conner had been_ _ **rambling**_ _when he talked to Fred._

 _When he and the boys were discussing sports, Conner had_ _ **laughed weirdly**_ _._

 _And finally, just now, he had_ _ **blushed**_ _._

Conner had displayed all four of the "crush symptoms" Bree had listed out.

In a single second, the shining conclusion dawned on Bree.

 _Conner had a crush on someone._

And Bree didn't know how to feel about that.

* * *

 **A/N: This story is quickly spiraling in the "crack" direction. And everyone is observing each other. Bree, Alex and Fred observing Conner, Alex observing Bree, Bree observing Amy's crush, Conner unknowingly observing Bree. Maybe I should rename this "False Observations Turned Real" lol. Also, the line "his imperfections were part of his charm to" was totally stolen from Assassination Classroom. Yuuup.**

 _ **Guest,**_ **thank you for your support :D Also, a little feedback would be nice~~ but thanks for reading anyways!**

 **(Okay I don't usually insert bolded lines into story text but I'm kinda out of options there so please bear with me, I don't do that often.)**

 **12/8/2018**


	9. Chapter 8: The Other Side of the Coin

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

Chapter 8: The Other Side of the Coin

"Alex!"

The girl spun her head to see Bree behind her. Alex grinned when she saw that Bree was already ready to go. The two had decided to work on their Social Studies project after school.

"Thanks for letting me go to your house," Alex said as she stuffed her books into her backpack.

"No problem." Bree, despite not having actually known the Bailey twins for long, more or less knew about their financial situation. She decided to avoid that topic completely with the twins as not to make them uncomfortable.

"Hey Alex!"

The familiar voice rang into the semi-empty classroom and Bree's heart stuttered. Conner's orange head popped into view, a somewhat sheepish look on his face. When he caught sight of Bree, he immediately looked away. She was too shiny and bright for him, and if he looked at her, he would be blinded by her awesomeness. And he would probably do something stupid, like smash into a wall.

"Alex, can you give me the key?" Conner called.

Alex stared at her brother. "What key- oh. Our house key."

"Yeaa…" Conner bounced on the soles of his feet, his bangs swaying slightly. "You're coming home late, right? Which means I'll have to go home by myself."

Charlotte had given one key for the twins to share. As Charlotte came home late, there was no one to open the door for the twins. Usually, Alex was the one to keep the key (as Conner had an oddly high risk of losing items), but occasionally, after school, Alex would want to go to the library and Conner would just want to chill at home. In those cases, Conner would go home with the key and when Alex returned, she wouldn't be locked out. That arrangement had worked pretty well for them so far.

"Ah yes, the key." Alex nodded. She rummaged in her jean pockets, and was surprised to find they were empty. "Strange… I usually put it here…"

"Perhaps you put it in your bag?" Bree suggested.

Mild panic ran through Alex as she hunted in her bag for that small, but important key. Packets of tissues and even the occasional tampon flew out of her bag, but there was no key. Sometimes Alex wished she could actually execute magic so she could just _Accio_ the key like they did in _Harry Potter._ It was especially unnerving that Alex was usually very organized and rarely misplaced or forgot anything. Defeated, Alex flopped down on her seat, feeling like a complete failure. "I forgot to bring the key," she muttered.

Conner's face fell slightly, but he hid it as not to upset his sister. "Alright, guess I'll just hang out with Freddie until Mom comes back." He shrugged his shoulders, flexible with new predicaments.

"I thought Freddie had basketball practice today with his friends? Do you want to join them?"

"Oh." Conner stared at his sister. "Well, since I'm terrible at basketball, I think I shouldn't be there… guess that leaves the library."

"Or my house."

The Bailey twins spun to look at a nonchalant Bree, the one who had just spoken.

To be honest, Bree had been pondering the idea of Conner staying at her house for quite a while. It seemed like a convenient solution, as Conner could have a place to go to, and she could not-so-secretly observe him more. And see if she could find out who Conner was crushing on. Bree wasn't trying to access her _competition_ or do something weirdly possessive, she was just curious.

Oh damn, Bree wasn't even convincing herself.

(Bree was such a stalker.)

Alex looked taken aback at the idea, while Conner was completely frozen. Alex marched forward, grabbed Bree by the shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Bree, thank you very much for your hospitality, but I don't think it's necessary for Conner to stay. You know how he is."

The mental image of Conner belting _I'll Make a Man Out of You_ with wild abandon slipped into Bree's head again, and she held back a chuckle. "No worries, I don't mind. And my sisters won't bother us much as they'll either be outside or stuck in their room."

Conner was still staring at Bree, eyes wide and mouth agape. Did Bree Campbell, the coolest girl in their year, just invite him to her house? Did he die and enter heaven (if there was one)?

Alex now stepped close to Conner and muttered, "Just behave, okay? Don't humiliate yourself."

"I-I'm not a _child,_ Alex," Conner mumbled, rather dissatisfied with his sister's patronizing treatment. He mumbled a "thank you" to Bree.

"You two ready to go?" Bree asked. As Conner's somewhat flushed face popped up, Bree instinctively tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She immediately berated herself for that. _You idiot! You know from online blogs that the "tucking hair behind ear" or "playing with hair" is a very typical sign of female flirting! And you don't want anyone to know about your crush!_

"Yes, sure." Alex was quick to reply. Due to her mad hunt for her key early on, her belongings were hastily scattered across the desk again. She stuffed them back in her bag, with Conner occasionally trying to help. Alex appreciated Conner's effort and care, but he was so disorganized and he kept putting her stuff in the wrong compartments. Nonetheless, Alex finished quickly, and the trio were ready go.

A few girls whispered among themselves as Conner, Alex and Bree walked past them. Bree watched them out of her peripheral vision, cool brown eyes narrowing slightly. Those girls were the so-called "popular" ones, people with totally average looks masquerading themselves as the goddesses of the world and with their noses always stuck in shiny phones, making snobbish remarks at everyone. Bree thought they were probably gossiping about her, and why she was walking with the two weirdos, the Bailey twins. She knew the twins were hiding something, which most likely had something to do with their funny aura, but it probably wasn't something shameful or horrifying. Sure, Alex may hug books, but Bree knew she was a kind person. And Conner, even with his crazy, silly antics, still meant the best for everyone. So, as Bree tilted her nose up higher, there was nothing embarrassing about being seen with the Bailey twins. Heck, she would rather spend her time with these two very interesting people than those "popular" people.

Meanwhile, Conner was freaking out. His hands were doused with sweat, as if the Niagara Falls were gushing out from his very skin. He didn't know what to do; he could either glance quickly at Bree for many, many times, or he could avoid her completely. He somehow simultaneously wanted to do both. Bree's very presence was killing him yet breathing life in him at the same time. His heart pounded in an erratic rhythm, and he did his best to stop a joyful smile from quirking up his lips. Deciding he could no longer bear it anymore, he shot Bree a swift look, hoping to memorize every feature on her face. Oh hell, why was he behaving like that? All traces of thought disappeared when he saw her, with her captivating brown eyes and blue and pink bangs falling gracefully over her forehead. Conner gulped, and turned away stiffly.

Why was he acting so weirdly? He'd never felt this funny around any person. Conner knew he should hate his odd behaviour and hunt down the reasons for it, but somehow, he liked that bubbly, warm feeling in his stomach every time he saw Bree.

Bree could feel a pair of eyes on her, and she knew it was Conner. Conner, that loveable dork, with stupid bright eyes and fantastical imagination and cute exaggerated hand gestures. Just thinking about him made butterflies flutter inside her, but when she remembered he was probably crushing on someone, her mood was dampened.

 _I have no right to be sad,_ Bree argued with herself. _How long have I known him? I'm not going to go all sappy crying face because my first crush doesn't like me back._ She absentmindedly kicked a pebble along the path.

Alex was feeling rather out of place. She knew Conner was crushing on Bree, and whether Bree knew that was undetermined, but still, Alex saw herself as the third wheel. She shuffled uncomfortably between them, training her eyes on the road.

What should she do? There was only one other person that shared Alex's knowledge of Conner's crush, and that was Fred. And Fred would definitely "excuse" himself in a suspicious manner to leave Conner and Bree alone. Or bring up the topic of crushes in an obvious and tactless way. Alex snorted internally; she was too different from Fred. Unlike him, she wouldn't try to matchmake them together. Firstly, they were too young and not mature, and secondly, Conner didn't need any more distractions from schoolwork. Plus, Alex didn't want a hand in messy middle-school love affairs.

Therefore, Alex decided to act natural and possibly act as a bridge between Conner and Bree to establish a possible friendship between the two. And to stop Conner from spontaneously singing and slamming into very hard, very solid objects.

Unknownst to Alex, Conner was also feeling awkward (other than the euphoria he felt from being around Bree).

He knew Alex and Bree were acquainted and they shared a class in Social Studies. They were probably somewhat close as he knew Alex wouldn't randomly pair up with someone.

Unfortunately for him, he wasn't close with Bree _at all_ (which saddened him for no reason).

And he was basically barging into Bree's house because he couldn't go home. It was like being babysat with an embarrassing twist. Other than that, he didn't have much to do but watch Bree and Alex work on their project.

Conner felt like a weird third wheel between the two girls.

And as for Bree, she knew the Bailey twins were like two peas in a pod. One couldn't survive without the other. She imagined they would talk and joke and share dumb memes on the way back from home, and now she, an outsider, had suddenly barged into their little circle. No wonder they were silent.

So basically, all three of them felt they were the odd one out of the trio. Which lead to awkward shuffling and even more awkward silence.

Conner was extra fidgety due to the silence. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a laser beam. Conner imagined a thick soupy mist hovering between the three of them, the white tendrils curling around their ankles like some silent monster preying on their uncomfortable souls. Now Conner thought about it, it seemed like a cool fantasy monster idea. Maybe he could incorporate it in some of his stories somehow…

Alex could see Conner was beginning to space out. She could definitely recognize that wide-eyed, faraway look. Misinterpreting that Conner was getting distracted by Bree (again, Alex noted), Alex took the initiative to speak. "So, Conner? Did anything interesting happen at school?"

 _Oh wow, I sound like a mom. Correction: I sound like_ my _mom._

Conner blinked, yanked out of his wild imagination. He subconsciously scratched his head as he searched his mind for a funny anecdote. "Y'know, someone at the lunch table bought a huge pack of marshmallows, so Fred tried to see how many marshmallows he could stuff in his mouth. He ended up nearly vomiting, but it was still funny."

"He does stupid things like that," Alex muttered, shaking her head in an albeit fond way. Her eyes scanned the tidy rows of houses, and wondered which one was Bree's.

"We're here," Bree said. The twins looked at the cheerful suburban house, complete with a garden and a swing. It was also a bit bigger than average due to the Campbell family having four daughters.

Alex and Conner shared slightly nervous looks, and followed Bree inside.

"Welcome back sweetie!" Bree's mother, Jennifer, called out brightly.

"Hey, Mom, this is Alex, the friend I told you about. We'll be working on our project," Bree gestured to Alex. Alex waved and nodded politely. Bree shot a quick glance at Conner, who was standing there awkwardly. "And this is Conner, Alex's brother."

"N-nice to meet you, Mrs. Campbell," Conner greeted, desperately trying to look good in front of Bree and her mom.

Jennifer waved a hand dismissively. "Oh please, just call me Jennifer. I've told the girls to stay out of the living room for you guys to work. Want some snacks?" she directed her question to her two guests.

Conner opened his mouth to reply, but Alex bet him to it. "No thank you, we're good," Alex said quickly.

Conner looked rather distraught by his sister's apparent "betrayal", and tried to speak, but Alex nudged him hard in the ribs when Jennifer's back was turned, which shut him up.

Bree lead the twins to her dining table, which was large enough for them to comfortably work on the project. Alex found herself staring a little wistfully at the cushions with hand-sewn patterns, the photos of buck toothed children on the mantelpiece, and the little handicrafts the siblings had made over the years, proudly displayed on shelves. Once upon a time, she and Conner had something similar too. That was before everything changed.

No matter, it was no use dwelling on the past. Bree had taken out some cardboard and coloured paper, and was laying coloured pencils and markers on the table.

Conner was feeling more jittery by the second. He felt so _wrong_ being in the middle of two girls. It was like a character appearing smack dab in the middle of a scene when he wasn't supposed to.

"I guess I'll just work on my homework," Conner told no one in particular. He sneaked a look at Bree to see if she had reacted. She hadn't. Conner puffed on his bangs on his forehead and took out his assignments.

"I got my part finalized," Bree mentioned as she took out a sheet of paper she had printed. "I don't understand why the project has to be handwritten. A complete waste of time in my opinion."

"Maybe they're training our writing speed for the exams," Alex commented. "There _is_ a time crunch, after all."

Conner tried to tune out the two girls as he worked out on his English essay. He stared blankly at the empty piece of lined paper, willing words to flow in his brain as they always did when he found a particularly compelling idea.

 _Focus! Focus!_ He yelled internally with no avail. He could hear Alex and Bree discussing next to him. Oh, when did Bree's voice become so… pretty? Her voice was cool and smooth, and hearing it sent a jolt in Conner's spine, which pleasantly spread to the rest of his body.

He vaguely realized Bree was talking about scissors. The word "scissors" had never sounded so beautiful. Conner was seriously considering the possibility of an alien parasite in his brain. Either that, or Bree had magic blood in her veins which inexplicably wrecked with his feelings. Having actual dealt with actual magic, Conner wouldn't rule out the latter as an option. Maybe Bree was secretly a sorceress. A sorceress with gorgeous dyed bangs and powerful magic stored in her many bracelets. Or, maybe Conner was just being weird.

Conner stared back at his (unfortunately) empty piece of lined paper.

The paper glared back at him.

Conner couldn't believe was losing a staring match with a pathetic piece of paper. To be fair, Conner himself also felt equally, or more pathetic.

He sighed softly, and managed to put down a few sentences. He felt like he was straight up vomiting words from his mouth. It was getting harder and harder to focus with Bree in close proximity. Conner's sweaty hands gripped his pen.

It was then he realized the girls' voices had gone quiet, replaced by the scritch-scratch of pens on paper. Conner turned over the essay question in his head again and again, and finally found a point he could start with.

Once Conner started, he was on a roll. Ink flowed freely from his pen, and knowing Conner's rather (ahem) _artistic_ penmanship, perhaps too freely. He managed to tune out his surroundings and his thoughts of Bree.

Meanwhile, two seats away from Conner, Bree was steadfastly copying her part by hand. Her hand was starting to cramp, and her handwriting slurred. Bree decided to take a break and drank a sip of apple juice her mother had brought up earlier.

Out of interest, Bree's eyes swiveled to Conner, trying to see what he was doing. According to some research she had found online, when you see your crush, your brain releases certain chemicals to make you feel happy, similar to how drugs work. Essentially, love was a drug. _That_ was comforting. And your brain will subconsciously search for that person in order to get that feeling of happiness again. Basically, Bree was getting high on Conner. She wanted to facepalm herself.

Conner's mop of strawberry blonde hair glinted in the dining room light. Whenever he moved his head, the sparkles of light shifted, like some sort of golden halo on his head… okay, Bree was beginning to sound like the dumb girls in badly written YA fiction.

The minutes ticked past, and Alex and Bree idly discussed on the presentation of their project. Conner had finished his essay and was now wrestling with his math homework. Math had _always_ been Conner's weak spot. He couldn't figure out why the numbers suddenly went from positive to negative. This unit on negative numbers was really having a negative affect on him. Alex or Fred were usually patient enough to teach him, but obviously neither of them were available at that time.

To make matters worse, math wasn't simply something Conner could randomly come up an answer with. At least for English, he could use unnecessarily long phrases and check the thesaurus to sound more "professional", but for mathematics, they were just icy, hard, immovable numbers! Conner just couldn't get them.

Conner grunted and shoved a hand in his hair, messing it up. Maybe if he gave his head a massage it could stimulate his brain. Or magically awaken that dormant part of him that was responsible for logic.

Conner forgot how long he had been agonizing over his math homework. He finally attempted to do question one, but somehow the answer didn't seem right. He peered at the numbers as if they were written in ancient runes, and grunted, air shooting out from his nostrils.

Bree happened to had been keeping an eye on Conner, and noticed he was struggling with maths. He didn't seem to have made any progress with his work. As much as Bree hated to see Conner (or anyone else) suffer at the hands of the cruel, torturous subject known as mathematics, she had to admit Conner's frustration was a bit endearing. The way he scratched his head just made his hair… floppier than usual, and Bree was filled with the sudden urge to run her fingers through his soft-looking hair. And she liked how he puffed out his rosy cheeks like a child.

Conner Bailey was _so_ going to be the death of her.

"I need the washroom," Alex muttered.

"It's down the hallway, second door to the left," Bree informed her.

"Thanks." Alex stood up and hurried away. Unintentionally (or not) leaving Conner and Bree in the same room alone together. They both heard her footsteps fade away.

There was a pause.

Conner was still glaring at his maths homework. He couldn't for his life figure out how to solve these problems. Suddenly, with only Bree and him present, the room's temperature seemed to increase dramatically, and Conner gulped. Focusing on his work seemed so much more difficult than usual with Bree's presence practically radiating from her. Conner's mind blanked completely, and he subconsciously drummed his fingers on the table, trying to get rid of the nervous energy.

Bree was still subtly looking at him. By this rate, it would take him months to finish his work.

 _Then go and help him!_ A voice chirped inside her mind.

Bree's rational voice immediately retaliated. _What? No. We don't even know each other that well. It'll seem weird,_ she argued.

 _But you're just fulfilling your duty as a nice, helpful classmate! What's the harm in that?_ Bree's inner voice was incurably optimistic.

Bree carefully weighted the options in her hands, and decided to proceed.

"Uhh, hey, Conner?"

Conner's neck turned so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Ummm yeah?" he squeaked in an embarrassing, prepubescent way. He wanted to curse his voice change.

"You having trouble with these problems?" Bree gestured to his homework.

"Yeah…" Conner stared dejectedly at his work. "I can't seem to understand these concepts. Why do the positive and negative signs keep on changing?"

"It's not really hard." All of a sudden, Bree had slid to the spot next to Conner, and was peering at his worksheet.

Conner couldn't breathe. Bree Campbell, the untouchable goddess, was being too close to him. Too close. He could feel some sort of godly aura radiating from her, one that reduced his insides to jelly. He could practically smell her shampoo, which was vaguely flowery and reminded him of purple flowers blooming under the moonlight for some reason. His stomach was wound tight in an awful yet euphoric way.

Bree was also nervous due to the closeness, but she kept her feelings under lock and key. She forced that logical part of her brain to work and focus on mathematics.

"So when you move this number to the other side, it changes from negative to positive. It's kind of a rule." Bree pointed to Conner's first mistake.

Conner's mind was blissfully frozen in the most awful and wonderful way possible. He knew he should get a grip but man, Bree was _there._ Right next to him. Then he realized she was talking and he had spaced out- again.

"Oh! Uhh, yeaaaaah, you're right," Conner rambled, redness flushing up his cheeks. His hands scrambled for an eraser. "I dunno why, but I keep on forgetting basic stuff like this. Haha, I suck at math," he said lamely.

Bree eyed Conner. He was getting flustered again, which she attributed to him having a crush on this unknown (lucky) person. But they were the only ones in the room. And Conner's round, squishy face was like a bright red tomato. What if…

No. _No._ Bree vehemently shook her head, knowing what little thought had just slithered into her mind. She wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't allow it; the tiny, tiny, practically non-existent hope that Conner Bailey was crushing on her. It was just a crazy fantasy, and Bree was probably over analyzing and overthinking again. It was just- no. No.

But it was too late. That little sliver of boundless hope was sliding and trickling into the cracks of her heart, filling her up with a strange, bubbly sort of new euphoria. What if, what if, he liked her back? And Bree knew once that notion came to her mind, she would _never_ get it out.

And besides, why would he like her? Conner probably liked the sweet shy little bookworms, someone with a sensitive, creative soul like him. Not her. Bree was too aloof, too weird. Why would he like someone who wrote morbid zombie stories like her? Or someone who was oddly attached to her beanie and bracelets? And Bree wasn't even _that_ pretty. He had no reason to crush on her.

Bree stared at Conner's math homework, but not really taking it in. Her heart was pounding, quickening due to the new exciting discoveries she was making. Her mind was a whirlwind of boundless but impossible fantasies, barely leaving space for other thoughts. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"Also, Conner, when you multiply or divide the numbers, the signs don't change," Bree said, desperately trying to stuff her feelings back into that small locked box.

 _Yeah. Mathematics. Mmm. Focus._

"Oh," Conner said dumbly. A pause. "Really?"

"It's the rules of mathematics. Also, I'm pretty sure 2 plus 3 doesn't equal 6."

"Ah!" Conner suddenly discovered his basic mistake, and began to erase his frantic pencil strokes with vigor. "I'm such an idiot-"

"Don't worry, everyone makes careless mistakes. I lost ten marks last exam because of them," Bree gave a rueful smile.

Conner continued to inspect his work, squinting his eyes to see if he could find more mistakes. Bree found that action comical and had to hold in a laugh. She forced her usual unassuming "cool and calm" facade on to hide her inner turmoil (she was very good at doing that).

"I actually think… you've copied the question wrongly for this one?"

"Oh crap," Conner slapped his palm on his forehead. "Man, I'm just pathetic."

"Don't say that about yourself," Bree advised. "Just because you're less… comfortable with math doesn't mean you're pathetic. Many people struggle with math too."

Conner didn't know why Bree was trying to make him feel better. He knew Bree was decent with math, so she probably took pity upon him or something… But hearing the words come out from her mouth sent a warm stream gushing from his heart. The corners of his lips quirked up.

"I think I can manage them on my own now. Thanks for your help, Bree," Conner said with a sincere smile, his gratefulness radiating from his practically glowing face. Somewhere in the back of his brain, he was wondering why wasn't he stuttering like he usually did, but he didn't dwell much on it.

It was Bree's turn to be dumbfounded. Having seen Conner's rosy, ridiculously cute face was enough, but now she had to see him _smile_ at her. And it was a gorgeous, genuine smile that added ten years to Bree's lifespan, and she had to fight hard to stop herself from smiling too. She got it _hard._

"Yeah, no problem," Bree found herself saying. The pitter-pat of footsteps indicated Alex was returning, and Bree suddenly felt rather self conscious. She zoomed back to her old seat and pretended she had always been working on her project. She sneaked a look at Conner, whose face was still red and visibly flustered. Boundless hope leapt in Bree's stomach, and she bit back a grin.

What if, what if, Bree dared to hope, Conner _did_ have a crush on her? And the imaginary perfect person Bree thought Conner was crushing on was her all the time?

It was ludicrous. Fantastical. Even a bit narcissistic.

Bree was unwilling to believe that without concrete evidence, and well… Conner blushing directly in her face wasn't "concrete" enough.

Bree, with her rational thinking, didn't like to jump to conclusions. Especially on a topic as sensitive and as personal as her _dumb crush liking her back_. But Bree's imagination was already running a thousand miles a minute, wildly speculating what would she do if Conner really did have a crush on her, what would happen if he, _hell forbid,_ asked her out, what would happen in two years time if the feelings still remained-

Oh, God.

Bree was _such_ an incompetent mess.

Bree willed herself not to think of Conner, and she concentrated, concentrated on her school project, narrowing her field of vision until all she could see were endless rows of words, and she hoped her brain and heart would stop _obsessing_ over the Bailey boy. It was wrong, creepy and distracting.

A single schoolgirl crush on one thirteen-year-old would not change her that drastically.

Bree absentmindedly fiddled with her hair, and casually side-eyed Conner. Conner was always so jittery and flustered. Or maybe he was only like that around her? None of Bree's friends really talked about Conner, aside from the one time he accidentally spilled his lunch on her, but even if in that case they just referred to him as "that random guy". Therefore, Bree wouldn't have an idea of what Conner was like when he _wasn't_ around her.

Obviously, Bree couldn't go up to Alex or his best friend Fred and say "hey how does Conner act normally this is for _very very scientific research_ ". Trying to observe him without noticing was too creepy and risky. And it wasn't like Bree could ask around. The last thing she wanted was to be involved in some silly middle school rumour.

Bree's main strategy was to observe. She could take a few risks if she wanted to, but Bree was afraid. Afraid of her deepest secrets and feelings being revealed and stripped away in the most horrible possible- by gossipy middle schoolers who would surely spread them through the neighbourhood like wildfire. Bree knew how annoying the rumours could be, like they were for Danielle.

Bree promised herself to stop acting weird. People would get suspicious and inquire- heck, they were already suspicious. Bree told herself to stop looking, to stop thinking, to stop this colossal mess of feelings related to Conner Bailey.

As for whether he actually liked her or not, that was a question for another day. Or so Bree had thought.

The hope, the fantasies, the theories, kept on burning in Bree's mind every day after she'd realized Conner blushed around her. It was another mystery, a tantalizing mystery, one that she was so close to solving. Bree could almost taste it on the tip of her tongue. The mystery and possibilities and unbased conclusions were awful, as they teased Bree, dragging her to the edge, driving her mad, until Bree didn't even _care_ if Conner liked her or not, she just wanted a clear answer.

Days, weeks shot by. Bree continued to observe Conner, for both detective and personal reasons. She'd made zero progress on the Bailey Twins Mystery, but she was pretty much sure Alex and Conner were hiding the same thing, and Alex still liked to hug books in the library. As for Conner, on some days, Bree was absolutely sure he was crushing on her, but on other days, it could be the opposite. It was aggravating Bree, and her emotions went up and down like an unpredictable seesaw.

But she was deliriously happy. Whenever Conner passed by, it felt like a jolt of delightful electricity had shot down her spine. And there was that fluttery warm feeling in her stomach, reminding of the soft pitter-pat of butterflies in the hazy morning air. And his voice, his laughs, his chuckles, were such a wonderful noise, that made something unknown bubble deep inside her.

As the initial wave of (Bree gagged) _lovesickness_ passed by, Bree got better and better at hiding her feelings and acting normal around Conner. He was still laughing and joking loudly with his friends as always, and Bree discovered Conner basically went into two extremes whenever he saw her- either he froze completely or he started to ramble like crazy.

By now, you may think Bree probably thought Conner had a crush on her with the overwhelmingly obvious evidence, but nooo, Bree feared her judgement was clouded. She wouldn't believe it unless someone, preferably Conner himself, said in directly in her face. Bree was awkward, carefully weighing her steps and refusing to jump to the conclusion that was millimeters away from her- better be safe than sorry, right?

Her saviour arrived in the form of a certain Frederick Hayford.

Everybody knew Fred was the Bailey twins' best friend. He'd practically grown up with them and knew them best. For some reason, Alex and Fred had begun to engage in heated but hushed discussions in the corridors between lessons. Bree suspected it had something to do with Conner, but didn't enquire.

To clarify, Bree had _not_ been intentionally stalking Conner's sister and best friend for information. She just happened to pass by. And she happened to have good ears. And she happened to have ears that perked up at every single mention of "Conner Bailey".

It was an oddly warm November afternoon. Bree remembered seeing Conner's navy blue hoodie in the hallway and being briefly distracted. It was after the sixth period, when people were brimming with joy and hope at the thought of going home. Someone was chatting excitedly next to Bree, and she was politely nodding, but not taking it in.

Then a flash of strawberry blonde, and the accompanying blond. Alex and Fred. Fred and Alex.

They were standing next to the water machine, talking. Fred's voice was slightly louder than the general din of the moving students. His eyes were focused on Alex, apparently ignoring everything else. Bree didn't think much of them. They were just classmates she happened to know.

As Bree passed by them, Fred's familiar voice floated to her ears…

" _I'm sure Conner doesn't even know he's crushing on Bree…"_

Time froze. Everything froze. For two seconds, Bree was completely paralyzed, the only sound being the loud _thump, thump_ of her pounding heart.

There was only one Conner in the entire school.

There was only one Bree in the entire school.

It was confirmed. Conner Bailey had a crush on Bree Campbell, and she had a crush on him as well.

 _Well, well._

Bree wouldn't say she had expected it, but it wasn't that shocking either. She had to blind to not notice the signs thrust in front of her very eyes.

But what now?

They liked each other. It was a mutual thing. A dumb middle school crush, but nevertheless a crush.

Bree didn't really have a plan afterwards. She just wanted to ignore it and let it pass. But now it was sort of hard to forget that _her very cute crush liked her back._

Bree knew they were too immature and inexperienced for anything that resembled a romantic relationship. Maybe they could be friends, but that would just be awkward.

Bree decided to wait. Wait and see how long their foolish feelings would go on for. Wait and see whether she and Conner had any connection. Wait until they were older and more able to deal with stupid romance.

Yes. That was what Bree would do.

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 **A/N: *wakes up from slumber* HELLO FOLKS TIS I WITH AN UPDATE AFTER HALF AN YEAR**

 **I'm sorry for OOC Bree. She's supposed to act a bit… not like herself when she first realizes she's crushing on Conner. She's** **lovesick woooo. That kind of thing does happen, but she'll be a bit more like herself soon enough!**

 **Also, thank you so much for your reviews and comments! They keep me going ≧ω≦ Please continue to support my work if you liked it! Thanks for reading as always :D**

 **12/3/2019**


	10. Chapter 9: I Like Hugging the Floor

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

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 **A/N: I'm sorry I'm shipping everyone with everyone this fic is CHAOTIC.**

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Chapter 9: I Like Hugging the Floor

"Ooh, is that Alex Bailey?"

Alex shuffled along, her head kept low. _Just go to your lunch table, just go to your lunch table-_

"She's smart, but also weird, like _reeaally_ weird…"

"I heard that she hugs books in the library! What a freak!"

Alex had heard every word of the girls' gossiping, and as much as she wanted to deny it, she knew it was true. She _was_ weird as she kept on hugging books in a futile attempt to somehow magically transport her back to the Land of Stories- the place where she truly felt alive.

Alex knew she didn't really belong at the Otherworld. Maybe Conner was, but Alex wasn't. Her soul had deeply resonated with the magic she'd seen at the Land of Stories, and now she felt like a part of her had been ripped off and left there. She knew she was a freak, but she was incomplete and hollow, and she needed to go back to the Land of Stories to be herself again-

"Hey! Mean girls with weird stripy hair!"

Oh.

That was Conner's voice.

Alex immediately looked up to see her brother next to her. His face was flushed with angry red. The relief she felt upon seeing her twin was rapidly washed away by concern. "Conner, what-"

"You know, you should stop saying hurtful things to my sister!" Conner bellowed, his voice probably much louder than he had intended. As a result, the area went deadly silent in the blink of an eye.

Conner immediately attracted the attention of the entire cafeteria. Everybody stared at him, as if an invisible limelight was glaring on his head, but he paid no heed.

"So what if she hugs books? Everybody has their own quirks, like your curious style of hair _which I don't like but respect,_ and how some like to pace while they study, and how some just _have_ to chew gum during class-"

The only sound was the excited murmurs of the crowd as they witnessed Conner Bailey standing up for his twin sister. Alex had never felt more grateful and embarrassed at the same time.

It was at that exact moment Bree entered the cafeteria. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of a furious Conner against the vicious snakes- whoops sorry, she meant the girls. Noting Alex's nervous expression and Conner's clenched fists, Bree quickly connected the dots. The girls were probably bullying Alex or did something to hurt her, and Conner, a loyal brother with a righteous heart, had to defend her. Bree was reminded when he'd glared daggers at the idiot that had pulled her hair a few months ago. Of _course_ he wouldn't let it slip past him.

Bree liked Alex, and was already idly daydreaming revenge plots, but she didn't move. She was sure Conner had it under control.

In response to Conner's speech, one of the mean girls loudly drawled, "Huh, look at that little Bailey boy. I guess freaks _do_ stick to each other." Her cronies bobbed their heads enthusiastically.

Conner's eyes narrowed, slicing them with a sharp glare. "How dare you-"

"Stop, Conner." Alex's voice, filled with apprehension, cut through Conner's fury like a knife. Her blue eyes flitted to the girls, then back at Conner. "They're not worth it," she stated quietly yet clearly.

 _Go get them, Alex!_ Bree inwardly cheered for her friend. _They don't deserve your time!_

"Let's just go," Alex muttered and dragged Conner away. Once the drama was over, the crowd surrounding them dissipated, and drifted back to their respective lunch tables. Bree tried to see the familiar strawberry blonde heads over the mob of students, but they too had vanished. Deciding she could see them later, Bree navigated through the busy cafeteria to get her meal (if that disgusting slop could be called a "meal") and she went to her usual table. Her friends were discussing the recent incident in hushed but agitated voices. Bree sat down besides Danielle.

"Hey, Bree!" Danielle's brown eyes glittered. "Did you see what happened just now?"

"You mean the showdown? Yeah, I saw that." Bree put on a calm demeanor and dug her spoon into that gooey mush. She stuffed it in her mouth and immediately made a face. "Blegh! How come this is still legal?"

"I feel bad for Alex," Danielle commented as she munched on some soggy vegetables. "I mean, it _is_ a bit weird that she hugs books, but Alex's a nice person. Those other girls are just plain nasty."

"I agree, Alex's great." Bree absentmindedly looked around at the cafeteria again, hoping to see the Bailey twins. She didn't find them, but however, she found Fred, his tall figure and spiky blond hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Upon seeing Fred, Bree's friends giggled and nudged Danielle, whose face flamed up, and she choked on her drink. Amused by Danielle's reaction, Bree too sniggered, which angered Danielle even more.

"Bree, don't act like you don't have something to tell us!" Danielle rambled, rattling off nonsense words in a desperate effort to defend herself. "H-how about Conner Bailey?"

Bree's stomach jolted at the name, and little bouts of euphoria bubbled inside her like champagne. "Oh. What about him?" Bree kept her voice neutral.

"He _spilled_ his lunch over you!" Danielle exploded, still in hysterics over Fred's appearance.

Bree raised an eyebrow and took a sip of water. "Yeah, that is very romantic. Dani, shall we call Fred over with his lunch for you?"

Danielle groaned. "I told you, he was distracted because he was looking at you! And he also kind of flirted with you when he returned your lucky bracelet!"

It was Bree's turn to choke.

The other girls gasped dramatically, as evidently, neither Bree nor Danielle had mentioned it to them.

"Oh my God! He _flirted_ with you?"

"What pick up line did he use? Was it one those cheesy ones like 'did it hurt when you fell from-"

"Girls, this is big news! Big, BIG news!"

The girls interrupted each other with animated exclamations, their voices rising a pitch every time they spoke. Rather dizzily, Bree knew she had to stop it before matters got out of hand.

"Dani, pray tell me, when did he flirt with me?" Bree drawled, using sarcasm to hide whatever turmoil that was raging inside her. "How come I wasn't aware of it at all?"

Danielle's face broke out in a big, self-satisfied grin. Doubtless she was glad that those "who likes who" rumours had a new target to feed on. "Didn't he say something like," she now put on a fake deep voice, " ' _we're each other's lucky charms_ ', yeah?"

"That's not flirting, Danielle," Bree told her friend in what she hoped was an exasperated tone. "He was just making a dumb comment."

"Uh-huh." Danielle was disbelieving. "How do you explain him looking at you and you looking at him all. The. Damn. Time?"

The girls around them gasped again, shocked yet delighted at this turn of events. One girl shoved a handful of peanuts in her mouth, her eyes bulging wide with excitement.

For one of the few times in her life, Bree was at a loss for words. She originally thought only she knew they were crushing on each other, but apparently Danielle had suddenly gained the intellect of Sherlock Holmes.

"Come on, girls," Bree forced a laugh to show how _casual_ she was. Everybody stared at her, attentive ears catching on every word she would say. "Dani's just randomly spinning up conspiracy theories." She turned to Danielle. "You just want to distract us from your… ahem, _relationship_ with Fred Hayford."

Danielle's flushed again, and accompanied by her red hair, she resembled an angry strawberry.

"Yeah, Dani, don't switch the topic!" a girl chastised Danielle.

"I told you guys!" Danielle declared indignantly. "I don't like him! It's just something stupid that someone cooked up!" She poked Bree. "And you, Breanne Anneliese Campbell! I thought you were on my side!"

"Weell." Bree chewed in a deliberately long manner. "Firstly, you somehow had to drag Conner in this mess to save face, and secondly, you do suspiciously sound like you have a crush on-"

"Don't say his name!" Danielle huffed.

Somehow sensing some invisible cue, the girls clustered around Danielle, shielding her from the outside. It was the universal sign of "girl talk about to happen".

"Spill the tea, sis," somebody hissed.

"I…" Danielle lowered her head and fidgeted with her cutlery.

There was a pregnant pause as everybody waited for her.

"... So what if I like him?" Danielle began in a small voice, still refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "I don't _know_ why I like him! He has a stupid personality and even worse pick up lines, and he flirts with so many people, and I hate how he wears his baseball cap backwards and casually punches his friends and-"

"Woah, looks like someone's stalking him," Bree couldn't help but say. She was met with enthusiastic "shh!"s from her companions, as they were eager to hear the rest of Danielle's speech. Bree obediently quieted down.

"B-but." Danielle blushed even more. "I guess… he has a cute face."

The tension visibly lessened in the circle of girls. Everybody immediately realized Danielle's supposed crush on Fred was real, and several girls "awww"ed.

"He's great at sports," somebody mentioned.

"And yeah, he does look good," someone else said. "Don't worry Dani, we won't steal him."

"Just don't tell anyone, okay?" Danielle quickly muttered. "I don't want anyone to know. Well, know that it's real."

"Alright, alright." Bree patted Danielle's shoulder. "Of course we'll keep it a secret."

Knowing that Danielle _was_ crushing on Fred was expected, but nevertheless still funny. Afterwards, Bree refrained from playfully shoving Danielle every time Fred passed by, but still had to hide a few chuckles.

A week later, Bree sat in her Social Studies class. Her eyes roamed over the blackboard, but she didn't really understand what was written on it. Bree always found herself thinking about other things during lessons. Maybe the lessons were too boring and caused her untethered mind to drift off into the forbidden territory of romance and crushes...

Bree bit back a grin when she recalled Danielle's hysterical reactions to being accused of crushing on Fred. It was funny and a bit endearing to see her friend act that way. Besides, Bree could also (sort of) relate with Danielle. Her mind kept on racing and racing and creating possibilities after she realized she had feelings for Conner. Bree guessed it was a way how people responded to crushes, and everyone had different ways.

Bree idly wondered what would Danielle do. Would she wait it out or try to attract Fred's attention or-

Wait.

 _When_ had she become so invested in Danielle's love life?

It wasn't like Bree had a big interest in romance before. She'd snorted at her sisters' self-indulgent shipping and Mary Sues and bad boy stories, and generally stayed out of the school's gossip circle.

At first, Bree thought she probably only cared because one of her best friends was involved. But even with that, something seemed to be missing.

Because Bree knew once upon a time, she didn't really care whether Danielle had a crush on Fred.

The answer then came to her pretty quickly.

Of _course_ it was Conner again.

That stupid crush of hers was screwing up her mind. And said stupid crush was probably causing her to have an increased interest in romance.

Ugh.

Bree wasn't against romance, but she disliked the sloppy, immature affairs middle schoolers usually put on. And Bree didn't want to date anyone (not even Conner) at the moment.

But there was something deep inside her that was intrigued by the messy tangles of puppy love.

Just slightly.

Or maybe, disregarding the entire crush scenario, Bree was just curious and wanted to know the truth. That seemed to be likely, but Bree couldn't deny that her feelings for Conner had made her a bit more aware of the rumours that swarmed the school.

She knew Conner liked her back, but she was still… curious.

Did anyone else suspect? Did people, using that horrendous term, "ship" them?

Bree groaned internally. Everything was so confusing! Crushing on someone was confusing! Her feelings were messing her brain up and to make things worse, she _still_ didn't know what was up with that aura surrounding the Bailey twins.

 _Get over him, get over him,_ she droned to herself.

She knew this crush was making her act weird and empty-headed. Her sisters and Danielle had caught her spacing out, something she'd rarely done before. It wasn't just one occasion.

And it got worse.

Because Bree now knew Conner was crushing on her which meant their feelings were mutual.

So everytime Bree saw Conner in the corridors she would immediately get that electrifying sensation through her body and whenever they brushed past each other, Bree's mind would chant _you both like each other, you both like each other_ until Bree felt like dying.

Bree could only wish to get over him as swiftly as possible. She still wanted to investigate the Bailey Twins Mystery, but she decided acting less weird and air-headed was more important. The last thing she wanted was something finding out, and she knew Conner Bailey was not… the most subtle of people. She'd narrowly escaped from being exposed by Danielle but Bree knew someone might find out one day or another.

So that was why Bree was determined to avoid Conner at all costs.

Because she acted funny around him and if she wasn't "around him", she would surely stop acting out of character, right? Then no one would suspect.

But yet another thing that concerned Bree was that, some part of her _liked_ to look at Conner. That freaky, fangirly part of her that she desperately wished to cease to exist. Bree had to control that insufferable urge to seek out Conner at every crowd, no matter she liked it or not. It was for her own good.

Therefore, during that Social Studies lesson, Bree resolved to maintain as much distance between her and Conner as possible.

But, obviously, the universe thought her grand scheme was a colossal joke. The biggest joke in all cosmic existence.

The bell rang and the students milled out of the classroom. Bree packed up her books and also left to find her friends during the short break time. After a brief stop by her locker, Bree went to a classroom where she knew some of friends were at. Bree peered in the room and to her relief (and a certain extent of disappointment?), Conner was nowhere to be seen. Bree and her friends chatted idly about something funny Mrs. Peters said and the auditions of the school musical (Danielle got in, to no one's surprise). Bree congratulated her friend and promised herself she would attend the musical no matter what. Danielle was talented, but she needed a confidence boost to help her shine.

Bree glanced at the clock. "I need to go now; my class' a bit far away."

She and her friends said their goodbyes and Bree made her way to the door. A vaguely Conner-shaped thing was also approaching the door from the outside, but he was moving too quickly and Bree's mind couldn't swivel that fast-

They bumped into each other.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Bree apologized instinctively without even fully realizing who she'd bumped into. A flash of strawberry blond kicked up a string of churning emotions, and Bree's mind went blank.

 _What is life? Is he who I think he is? Why-_

"Ah?" The person, who was now-very-clearly-Conner, looked up, confusion and slight panic in his eyes.

Time froze.

(Bree indistinctly remembered what she'd vowed to do just ten minutes earlier- _to avoid Conner Bailey at all costs._ Now she just ran into him. What a joke.)

"You okay? You don't look okay," Bree found herself saying, lips moving on their own.

Bree's words sent Conner back to life. The boy blinked once, then twice.

"Hm-? Oh yeah, I-I'm alright, just a bit…" Conner used his hands to gesture vigorously. "... stunned."

"Heh, I can see," Bree stupidly said in return. Before either of them could screw it up even further, Bree turned on her heel and abruptly departed. But not before Bree caught a glimpse of Conner's red cheeks.

Bree wanted to sink in a hole then _die._

Bree walked briskly to her classroom while screaming internally. Every time she thought of her oh-so-stupid crush, her pace quickened, almost as if she wanted to leave him behind in that damned doorway.

It was ludicrous. Impossible.

She had just decided to stay away from him and of _course_ she had to literally bump into him.

Bree audibly groaned and shook her head.

Oh, the universe was making fun of her alright.

What the _heck_ was that? Fate? Coincidence? Something relating to that dumb aura again? Or just pure (mis)fortune?

And that was how Bree miserably gave up on avoiding Conner. For two people who only shared one class, they sure saw each other often. Almost too often.

Fortunately for Bree, she lost some of her mushy lovesickness. Sure, she couldn't stop that leap of joy in her heart whenever she saw Conner, but at least she didn't space out as much nor did she do weird things around Conner. Conner however, appeared to be as clumsy as always.

Bree, Fred, and Alex watched with similar exasperation as Conner slammed into a wall- again.

Bree sighed. _Well, I guess he never changes._

* * *

The days sped by, and soon the cold fingers of winter crept onto them. Alex's winter scarf was old and tattered, but Alex didn't want to waste money on buying a new one, so she kept on using her scarf even if it couldn't keep her warm. Somehow or other (Alex suspected it was Conner), word reached Fred's ears, who immediately gave Alex one of his scarves. When the Baileys protested, Fred had said he was going to throw the scarf away (even though it was in perfectly good condition) and wouldn't want it to go to waste. Reluctantly, but gratefully, Alex accepted the scarf.

With the long, striped scarf wrapped snugly around Alex's neck, she and Conner walked from their small rental house to Fred's. They had decided to hang out on the first few days of winter break.

The Christmas atmosphere was alive and brimming in the Hayford household. The Bailey twins knew Mrs. Hayford was one of those people who were super enthusiastic about Christmas. Bright ornaments and strings of fairy lights decorated the cheerful Christmas tree, and a miniature wooden figure of Jesus in the manger was brought out. Scented candles were placed on the dining table, and Mrs. Hayford even proudly displayed a clay angel Fred had made when he was four. Alex and Conner knew Fred was still embarrassed about his… bold creation.

"My mom goes over the top every Christmas." Fred sheepishly scratched his head, eyes roaming over his lavishly decorated house.

"Really? I think it's nice," Alex replied. The twinkling lights and familiar warm atmosphere brought her back to her simpler times- when her father was still alive and they spent happy Christmases together as a family. She smiled up at Fred. "By the way, Freddie, your scarf is really warm."

"It's also suuuper long and Alex gets it tangled up," Conner butted in.

Fred ignored Conner. "Ha, I'm glad it's cozy for you, Alex. My mom baked some Christmas cookies- yeah, too early, I know, and you know how it goes every year-"

"We _have_ to finish the entire platter," Conner deadpanned.

"Or else she won't let us leave," Alex continued in a similar deadpan way.

Fred rubbed his hands together almost wickedly. "Great! You already know the rules of surviving Christmastime the Hayford way. The cookies this year are noticeably more than last year's…"

Conner and Alex shared a look. They both had sneaking suspicions it was again one of the Hayfords' means of helping them.

Conner took a cookie and tossed it in his mouth. "These are as amazing as always," he praised with his mouth full.

Alex sighed deeply. "How many times have I told you, Conner? Do not speak while eating."

Fred gestured to Alex using finger guns. "Ooh, Mommy Alex!" he teased her.

Conner swallowed the cookie, and said, "Hey! Let's play Mario Kart! I wanna hit someone!"

"Mario Kart again?" Alex glanced at the controllers. "How about we do something else?"

"Sure," Fred, who was always easy-going, agreed. "What do you want to do, Alex?"

"Play board games?" Alex suggested.

Fred was already making his way up the stairs. "Nice, which one?"

Forty-five minutes later, Alex won her third round of Scrabbles. Conner groaned and held his head. Fred slumped over the couch and closed his eyes. Alex just sat there calmly and amused herself with the boys' reactions.

"Ughh, Alex, the spelling bee queen," Fred muttered lifelessly.

"How can you use words like 'connoisseur' when I struggle with spelling 'receive'?" Conner moaned. He rolled over so his face was planted into the sofa.

"I think that's enough for today," Alex said almost cheerfully, which irked the boys.

"I don't want to play Scrabble for the rest of my life." Conner's voice was muffled.

"My brain feels dead," Free chimed in. After a short while, he opened his eyes and sat up. Fred reached over for his smartphone and scrolled through some of his messages.

"By the way, do you guys want to go ice skating?" Fred asked the twins. "Apparently someone's dad works at the nearest rink and can offer us discounts."

"Oh." It was at times like these Conner wished he had a smartphone of his own, so people could contact him without calling his home number or sending him a good old-fashioned letter. "Who's going?"

Fred stared at Conner and hid a smirk, as he knew Conner was going to like what he was about to say. "Well there's the gang: me, Will, Jackson, and Owen. As for the girls, there's Hannah, Abigail, Danielle, Emma and I remember one more... Bree."

Hearing Bree's name come from Fred's mouth was like sending a lightning bolt down Conner's spine. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly very enthusiastic about going ice skating with Bree (and his friends) even though he didn't know how to skate.

Alex nearly rolled her eyes when Fred mentioned Bree. _Another_ matchmaking scheme, whether intentional or not? Fred made eye contact with Alex and winked. Thankfully, Conner was still too out of it to notice, or else he would've punched Fred for winking at his sister.

"But Conner and I can't really skate," Alex reminded Fred.

"No worries," Fred said dismissively. "Ice skating is easy. I learnt it in less than half an hour. I'll teach you guys."

"When is it?" Conner asked, trying to hide his excitement.

"Two days later. 3pm at the mall."

"Ooh! I'm going! How about you, Alex?"

Alex looked thoughtful. "I don't think I'll go. Firstly, I can't skate, and secondly, I don't really know these people. I mean, I'm probably closest with Bree, but still I'm not really close with her."

Both Conner and Fred were disappointed. They looked so sad, it was almost comical to Alex.

"Alright, if that's what you want," Fred said. "But just in case if you don't have mittens for skating, I have some."

Alex threw a cushion at Fred. "Hayford, what is up with you and knitted garments?"

Fred just grinned in reply. Truth be told, he liked this side of Alex, who was smart and sassy and wasn't afraid to speak up. Alex was usually so shy and reserved in front of others, and Fred was glad he and Alex were good friends.

"But…" Alex quieted down. "Mom has an afternoon shift on that day, so if I don't go, it would only be me in the house."

"Then go with us, dude!" Fred said as if it was obvious.

"C'mon, Alex!" Conner grinned at his twin. "It'll be fun! Ice skating can be pretty useful."

Alex looked around, avoiding Conner and Fred's eyes. She scrunched up her forehead and thought deeply. "Since my schedule is open, I guess I'll go," she said finally. Then she glared at the boys. "But don't you dare ditch me."

"Of course we wouldn't, my darling sister." Conner stood up and went to the platter of cookies to get some. During his short absence, Fred slid over the couch and whispered in Alex's ear.

"Thanks for coming, Alex. I don't think I alone can stop Conner from being stupid in front of you-know-who."

"Oh?" Alex snorted. "That's what we're calling her now?"

As Conner returned, Alex and Fred automatically shut up and separated. The only sound was Conner's rather loud munching. He was oblivious to his two best friends' hushed conversation, which was probably for his own good.

A sudden thought struck Alex. "Fred," she hissed. "You're not trying to stick them together, are you?"

Fred waggled his eyebrows comically. "Hmm, who knows?"

* * *

Alex was nervous.

No, she was beyond nervous.

She was currently stuck with a bunch of random classmates, including her brother, her best friend, her potential sister-in-law, and some girl that was rumoured to crush on Fred.

Alex didn't think she'd spoken more than five words to most of them.

Alex quietly tied the laces on the pair of skates she had rented. Next to her, Conner's friends Jackson and Will were having a loud argument about soccer. Hannah and Danielle discussed boy bands enthusiastically. Bree and Abigail were laughing about something. Conner nudged Fred and they both burst into boisterous chuckles.

The only ones that seemed as silent as her were Owen, the guy whose dad worked at the rink, and Emma. Owen had that kind of scary, solemn face which made you think he could kill you if he wanted to. Emma was just shy and clung onto her friends. Alex internally sighed. _Why_ did she agree to come along in the first place?

Alex shifted to the side of the bench, desperately hoping she could somehow turn invisible (or maybe she already was to her peers).

"Yo!" a familiar voice popped up next to her.

Alex wearily spun to see Fred, who was sitting next to her. Funny. She had thought he was on the other side of the room.

Somebody wolf whistled. Alex suddenly saw everyone staring at her and Fred, and she felt her face scorch crimson. Why did middle schoolers go nuts every time a boy and girl merely talk? Embarrassed, she desperately trained her eyes on the ground, hoping a black hole could devour her right now.

Fred had evidently did something, because from her peripheral vision, Alex could see the others shifting and turning away.

"You wanna skate?" Fred continued, voice sounding from above.

Alex saw Danielle and Bree stand up and move to the rink. She gulped when she eyed the blades on their feet. How could they balance themselves on such a thin blade?

"Umm."

Alex swallowed and fidgeted with her fingers.

"Come on!" Fred stood up easily and brushed dust off his trousers. "It's not as terrifying as it looks."

"Fine," she muttered. She used her palms to slowly propel her upwards. She wobbled a little, unused to the new balance. To Fred's credit, it really wasn't _that_ hard.

"Dude!" Fred yelled across the room to Conner. Conner's head bobbed up in response. "I trust you not to die on the rink sooo off you go! I'm going to teach Alex."

Before Conner could even protest, Fred marched off to the rink. Alex did her best to follow him, hobbling uncomfortably behind Fred as if she was a penguin. She wondered if the ice was as slippery as she thought. Alex shuddered at the thought of falling down.

Alex saw two blurs on ice speeding past. She internally marvelled at Danielle and Bree's skating, especially Danielle, who looked like she had official training. Her red hair bright against the ice, Danielle slid elegantly across the ice, her feet moving faster and faster-

"Don't be intimidated by their speed," Fred laughed, and gave Alex a little nudge. He'd seen the dumbstruck look on Alex's face.

(Secretly, Fred had also been impressed by the skating.)

Alex swallowed. "Okay," she replied. She didn't really knowing what to say.

They got onto the ice, and almost immediately Alex's hands found the railing. She gripped it tightly as though it was her lifeline (it probably was). Even though she'd just taken a tiny step, the ice was slippery so her feet moved in different directions, and Alex was weirded out by the sensation.

Alex's head whipped around to see if she could catch a glimpse of Conner, but her twin was nowhere to be found. Alex suddenly wondered if he was struggling with the skating laces.

"Hey, Alex!"

Alex spun to see Bree skate past her, hand reached out in a wave. Still clutching the railing, Alex gave Bree a weak smile. Bree's blonde ponytail flashed and in a second, she was gone as quickly as she came.

"Alright, try to hold the railing with only one hand so you have room to skate," Fred said as he surveyed Alex. Alex nervously moved herself into that position, her skates skidding awkwardly on the ice. She kept her eyes trained on her feet, thinking that one small mistake could cause her to slip and fall.

 _Don't worry,_ a small, but steady voice told her. _Freddie's gonna help you, that's why he's here, and that's why you're here._ Alex breathed in deeply, then exhaled. _You're not going to die._

Fred told her the right way to skate and even taught her the "proper way to fall down" ("It's a real thing I learnt," he insisted). Alex's jittery nerves soon faded a little and she became more comfortable with her predicament.

Fred whooped in encouragement. "Aww look, you're doing it!"

"Really?" Alex questioned, but a hidden smile quirked on the corners of her lips. She shuffled forward and applied pressure on her skates, so she slid on the ice instead of walking. Surprised and delighted by her progress, she boldly picked up her pace. Alex slowly loosened her grip on the railing and rubbed her numb fingers together. They had become stiff when she'd clenched the railing for too long with too much force.

Alex stretched out her arms for balance, and inched forward. An unexpected jerk to the side caused her limbs to flail and Alex slammed against the railing.

"Woah! You okay?" Fred's loud voice exploded against her ear.

Alex winced and nodded. "I'm fine, Freddie." She looked up at her friend and suddenly realized he was staring at her, hard concern etched on his face. His arms were reached out and frozen into place, as if he was going to catch her if needed.

Alex looked at Fred.

Fred looked at Alex.

Something weird tinged in the atmosphere. Awkwardly, Alex hastily brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

Fred's eyes travelled back to his outstretched arms, and his Adam's apple bobbed. His arms jerkily fell back to his sides. "Well, it's lucky that you're not really hurt."

Fred's voice suddenly sounded like it was clouded with- with something. Something Alex couldn't recognize, in all the years she'd known Fred.

Alex abruptly felt the need to retreat self-consciously. "Thanks for teaching me to skate, Fred. I-I think I can handle myself from now on."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side of the rink, a gang of middle schoolers were excitedly discussing Alex and Fred.

Jackson was sniggering, and didn't even make any effort to conceal his obvious amusement. Will repeatedly slapped his hand on his knee, chortling the entire time. As for Owen, the quiet boy had uncharacteristically collapsed into a laughing fit, and turned away, hands over his mouth to muffle his chuckles.

Abigail had a big fat smile on her face and Emma was giggling. Bree's face remained as neutral as ever, but the cogs in her mind were turning at this new potential development.

Hannah was silently screaming and shaking Bree's shoulders with frenzy as she watched Fred and Alex. "Oh my gosh, they're soooo cute together!" she squealed.

Danielle gave her an unusually frosty glare.

 _Oops, someone's jealous._ Bree was rather exasperated by her peers' dramatic reactions to a boy and a girl simply talking. _They're all so heteronormative._

"He tried to catch her when she fell! Awww!" Hannah continued to screech.

"Well, Fred's just being a normal, decent person. You don't need to have romantic feelings for someone for you to help them," Bree said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, Bree's right," Danielle sniped rather loudly, which caused the others to go quiet.

The girls turned to her. Abigail's smile was sliding off her face like melting ice cream. "Dani, I'm sorry, but I'm a gigantic multishipper-"

Danielle shrugged. "You do you," she said in an indifferent tone. She spun, crimson hair splaying out behind her-

"Hey! It looks like Fred's coming back!" Jackson exclaimed. Sure enough, Fred's figure was making its way back to the gang.

At the mention of Fred, Danielle seemed to pause. Hannah nudged Abigail, and they exchanged whispers, then Abigail turned to the rest of the group.

"I have an idea!" Abigail said brightly. "Let's have some a skating competition and see who can finish a lap the quickest!"

"That's not even a competition. We all know Danielle's the fastest," Will remarked.

"But it'll be fun!" Hannah's eyes were practically shimmering. Bree was suddenly very sure that this was yet another "matchmaking" plan concerning Fred and Danielle, even though Hannah and Abigail had been screaming about Alex and Fred approximately seven seconds ago. They really were chaotic multishippers.

"Ooh, a skating competition? Count me in!" Fred declared excitedly. There were murmurs of agreement from the boys and the girls, and some began to shift on their skates, getting ready.

Danielle's face was uncharacteristically stony. "Get ready to have your ass handed to you, Hayford."

Bree snorted.

Fred gave Danielle a lazy smirk. "Oh, I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Miss Rowland."

Hannah, Abigail, and Jackson "oohed" at the reply.

Bree watched as pink bloomed on Danielle's face once again. Danielle spluttered and skated to a traffic cone. A sharp brake caused shaved ice to fly out under from her skates.

"Here is the starting point," Danielle notified the group. "The fastest one to come back wins."

"I'll stay here as the judge," the quiet Emma spoke up.

Bree's eyes scanned the rink for two familiar people. Alex was clinging onto the railway, carefully skating, while Conner was, again, nowhere to be seen. A little concern bubbled in her heart. She didn't think he knew how to skate, and she had thought one of his friends would teach him…

"On your mark!"

Bree, following everyone else, got into position by the traffic cone.

"Get set!"

A blur of strawberry blond at the entrance of the rink caught Bree's attention. It was Conner, and judging from his unstable feet, he was having a hard time balancing. Seeing him created that warm twist in her stomach again, and Bree snapped her eyes away, not wanting to be distracted.

( _But what was he doing there? Was Fred not going to teach him? Did he think his friends had abandoned him? Was he-_ )

A sharp voice pierced through Bree's thoughts, sending her slamming back to the land of reality.

" _Go!_ "

* * *

"Ugh, this sucks."

Conner wobbled unsteadily on two feet. He stumbled to the ice rink and saw his friends zooming across the ice, apparently engaged in some sort of skating competition.

"Thanks for ditching me, you jerks!" Conner hollered towards them. But they were already too far away and couldn't hear him.

Conner internally groaned. Great, his friends were all gone. Truly the exemplar of A Wonderful Friendship. And his sister (whom Fred had decided to teach first for some reason) was at the opposite side of the rink, skating slowly. She couldn't possibly help him, as they were practically worlds apart to Conner.

Conner didn't want to stand there like a log of dead wood waiting for someone to rescue him and sweep him on the ice. First of all, unlike his sister, Conner didn't really think much before putting himself in action. Trial and error was one of the ways Conner learned from the most, and if he didn't try to skate, he knew he would never learn it. Even if he didn't know how to skate, even if he had a 200% of falling down on his first second on ice, even if Bree would see him act stupid again, he had to skate. After all, it didn't hurt to try, right? And it surely couldn't be _that_ hard.

Conner gingerly stepped on the slippery ice. He experimentally wiggled his feet and placed his other foot on the ice. He grunted, face colouring with effort as he tried to maintain a balance.

"Slow and steady, slow and steady…" Conner muttered to himself through gritted teeth. Every muscle in his body was tense and it felt like his legs had been frozen solid along with the ice.

Conner inched on the ice, hands flapping by his sides as if he was a windmill. He really wasn't skating, he was just talking steps and letting the blades slam on the ice instead of gliding on them. He awkwardly moved on the surface, wishing he was somehow making progress.

He was not.

His gloved hands found the railway and he used it to somewhat propel him along. The more he struggled, the more his good-for-nothing body refused to cooperate with him. Conner's limbs were like heavy bags of concrete, and they stubbornly protested against whatever signals Conner's brain was sending.

"Please tell me I'm at least a quarter through," Conner panted to no one in particular. He sighed and craned his neck, exhausted eyes seeking out the entrance of the rink.

The entrance was five feet away.

Frustrated, Conner puffed, his bangs floating up from his forehead. He angrily pushed the railing, and due to Newton's third law of motion, the force he exerted pushed him back-

And sent Conner toppling into the deep abyss of hell.

Okay. Maybe it was more like onto the hard, cold ice but it still felt like hell to him.

Conner fell and crashed on the ice, his cheek slamming on the surface. A strangled yelp escaped from his lips. Pain sprouted from various places across his body but none of them was as bad as the sheer humiliation of completely collapsing on the ground.

 _I hate my life. My dear sister, please tell our mother that I love her, for I shall perish-_

Conner remained motionless, the fall still ringing in his head. He was lying flat, the only thing in his sight being the faint blue of the ice. He knew a bad bruise was forming on his cheek and he could already feel the hot pain throbbing from it.

Next to him, blades skidded to an abrupt halt. Conner was too preoccupied with his current, pathetic state to care but then an oh-so-familiar voice sent him jolting back to the real world.

"Oh my God, are you okay?"

It was Bree.

It was _obviously_ Bree, because she always happened to be around him whenever he did something idiotic, which was painfully ironic, as the person Conner wanted to look least stupid in front of was Bree. He didn't know why, he just _did._

"Yeah, I'm totally fine," Conner drawled out in a hopefully non-sarcastic way. His heart rate started to speed up and he could feel his mind suddenly go blank. Conner could no longer think of any good comebacks which doubled, no, tripled the embarrassment.

A pause from above. "Umm, you sure?"

"I just like hugging the floor!" Conner yelled from his still-awkward position. The moment the words left his mouth, Conner regretted it as they sounded incredibly dumb.

Bree kneeled down, stretching out a hand. Conner suddenly felt like he was brought back to a month ago when he spilled his lunch on Bree, and she ended helping him up too.

 _Why_ did he always have to screw up in front of _her_?

Conner's pride was already too damaged for him to refuse Bree's hand. Besides, he knew with his crappy balance and equally crappy luck, he had no chance of standing up without exterior support.

"You better be glad no one has accidentally skated over your fingers or something," Bree commented absent-mindedly as she pulled Conner up.

Even though they had two layers of knitted material between them, Conner still felt the warmth radiating from Bree's hand. He swallowed, that jittery sensation starting in his stomach again.

"T-thanks a lot, Bree," Conner muttered, his cheeks coloured red with mortification. _And why is this girl so morbid?!_

"Y'know, it's not really safe for you to be on ice when you don't know how to skate," Bree remarked. Her eyes trailed down to Conner's skates (the laces were thankfully tied). "I mean, I'm not a pessimist, but you can get badly hurt."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Conner wobbled over to the railway and used it as support so he could make his way out of the rink. Bree, who was curious and concerned for Conner, followed him.

"I think these skates aren't your size." Bree peered down at the skates again. "They seem to be so big for you."

"Oh. You mean they're supposed to be tight?"

"Yeah, tighter than usual. That way, you won't fall down as easily."

A noise of annoyance rumbled from Conner's throat. "Ugh, and I thought the skating rink dude had given me the wrong size…"

* * *

Bree watched as Conner hobbled to one of the benches and took his skates off. Then, when he rented a new pair of skates, Bree went to the vending machine.

 _Why he is lovably stupid?_ Bree groaned to herself as she mindlessly punched the buttons. She sort of wanted to watch after him to prevent him from injuring himself. A can of soda fell from the vending machine and Bree picked it up, feeling the coolness of the surface through her mittens.

She returned to Conner, who was tying his skates. Bree felt bad for him, as his friends were all out there skating and had basically ignored him. Of course, out of human decency, she wanted to help him, but she was also cautious of the over-excited minds of her peers. Alex and Fred had already blown up because Fred was a nice person and had decided to teach Alex to skate. But was that going to stop her?

"Hey."

Conner looked up. "Hey."

Bree held out the can. "I bought something cool so you can have something to ice your bruise." She gestured to his cheek.

"Oh! Uh, umm..." A nervous smile broke across Conner's face. His eyes flitted from his skates to the can. Bree could see his Adam's apple bob. Then quickly, he took the can and pressed it to his cheek. "Thanks again. I'll pay you back."

"There's no need." Bree dismissed it with a wave. She bit her lip, and observed her surroundings, somehow liking and disliking the fact that they were alone.

Conner looked like he was about to protest and shove money in Bree's hands, but he glimpsed Bree's face and shut up.

Conner pressed the can between his cheek and his shoulder, head tilted at an angle. He stuck out his tongue as his fingers twisted the laces of his skates. Bree privately thought he looked adorable.

"Y'know, even with this," Conner half-heartedly pointed to his new pair of skates. "I still can't really skate."

Bree had thought of teaching him. Of _course_ she had thought of teaching him. But again, she despised having people murmur about her supposed love life behind her back. The "incident" with Fred and Alex was already blowing up, and she would hate to be the next-

Footsteps were heard. At the same time, Bree felt her hair fizzle with static. _The aura._ Conner and Bree's heads spun to the origin of the sound, which was Alex Bailey.

Alex looked rather stunned by their appearances. After two seconds of staring, she fidgeted with her mittens, and walked over.

"Hi," Alex said, and nodded politely to the both of them. Her blue eyes swept over to Conner, and arched an eyebrow. "Wow, so you actually can't tie laces-"

"It's not like that!" Conner burst in, his face reddening again. He scrunched his nose and glared at his sister. "I just got the wrong size."

Alex stared past Conner and made eye contact with Bree. "He didn't do anything stupid, did he, Bree?" Her tone reminded Bree of a teacher.

Inwardly, Bree chuckled to herself. On the outside, Bree maintained a cool demeanor. "Oh, he just sort of slipped. Once."

An amused yet exasperated grin wove itself on Alex's face. "I'm somehow not surprised," she quipped.

Conner had been following the conversation, eyes bouncing back and forth from Alex to Bree as if he was watching a ping-pong match. "Alright, alright," Conner cut in loudly. "You two can stop making fun of me right now."

Bree was feeling in the particular mood to tease Conner. "Oh, and Alex, you know what he said?" When Alex looked at her curiously, Bree continued, "He said he liked to hug the floor."

Bree could practically the hotness torching from Conner's face. Hoping she hadn't hurt him too much, she quickly added, "That was pretty funny though."

Conner threw his hands up. "I'm leaving this 'let's make fun of Conner' group chat," he declared dramatically. He attempted to boldly stride away to maintain the theatrical effect, but he just wobbled on his two feet. Bree had to hold back a grin.

Alex chuckled and started to drag Conner along. "It's time for this couch potato to do some exercise," she remarked.

Bree watched as the Bailey twins nudged and laughed their way to the rink. She followed them, ready to get back on the ice.

She could still feel the strange aura they emitted, and she _still_ had no idea what they were up to. To Bree, the Bailey twins were just normal, likeable people. They didn't seem to be the type to keep government secrets or whatever. But perhaps their innocent facade just made them more likely to be hiding something.

But whatever they were, be it agents, wizards, or superheroes, they were still kids. Kids her age. Middleschoolers who had to deal with love rumours and mean girls and never-ending gossip.

Of course, Bree was still intent on getting to the bottom of the mystery, but if they weren't going to tell her, she would be fine with it. She would be itchy, frustrated, annoyed, but nevertheless accepting. She accepted that they had secrets, but they already had too much on their plate. Bree didn't want to add on their troubles.

Bree was content with right now. She was on good terms with the twins, she'd stopped acting weird around Conner (although she still had a big crush on him). She remembered what she'd thought before, that her life was boring and ordinary, but this year, with the addition of the Bailey twins-

She finally got the excitement she was craving for.

And she was thankful for that.

* * *

 **A/N: aaaaAAAAA I'M BACK after an eternity (read: two and a half months) ~~ I'm writing this during the first of my finals week, and I just** _ **had**_ **to get it done. And I spent so much time trying to proofread this chapter and I'm exhausted. Pardon my mistakes.**

 **Ahh writing Conner/Alex/Fred interaction is so much fun! And I KNOW I said there won't be OC x Character buuuut I can't resist, and endgame is still Arthur and Alex (but even I prefer Fredlex over Arlex lol).**

 **Also, I'm genuinely interested, here's a question for the Fredlex shippers: why do you ship Fredlex? Like, do you not think Arthur is a good love interest for Alex? You saw everyone commenting about Fredlex and decided to ship them too?**

 **By the way, if anyone's wondering if there's going to be a petty fight between Danielle and Alex for Fred or something, no, nothing of that sort is going to happen. Dani's just momentarily jealous like the middle schooler she is.**

 **I've also published a How To Train Your Dragon/ TLOS thing! It's on my profile and it's called "** _ **Confessions of a Crushing Craftsman**_ **". Please give it some support if you have free time! :D**

 **Thank you very much for your support and reviews, they inspire me to write :D Please continue to support this fic!**

 **30/5/2019**


	11. Chapter 10: Bittersweet

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

* * *

 **A/N: Again, I'm sORRY because I have no control over the characters. They just decided to jump out of whatever plans I created for them. I would like to stress the importance of the note at the beginning of Ch 2.**

 **Also, it snows where they live. This is not true in canon, but considering the location of their neighbourhood in the Otherworld does not hold much significance, I'm going to change canon.**

 **Mentions of mild language, but it's not too serious.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Bittersweet

"Aww look! Conner, you were so cute as a kid!"

Fred pointed to a photo of a young Conner making faces in front of the camera. Conner's face was comically scrunched up, his little tongue stuck out.

"Huh, are you saying I'm not cute anymore?" Conner retorted.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're totally not cute now."

"Wow! You two are such meanies!" Conner half-whined, but as Fred cackled, the tension was quickly resolved.

The trio were, once again, hanging out at Fred's house. They had decided to take a look at some of their old photos, and in doing so, they sunk back into a warm pit of childhood nostalgia.

"Hey! That's when we were role playing!" Conner pointed to a picture. A young Conner and Fred, with gigantic grins on their faces, were dueling each other with wooden sticks. They were dressed in cardboard armour. Alex was on the side, also laughing, holding what looked like a star wand in her hand.

"I remember that!" Alex said, delighted. "I was the fairy. I was trying to play mediator between you two."

"We were fighting over the lands," Fred chuckled. "And the throne. Which was basically a tree house."

"C'mon, that tree house was great!" Conner said enthusiastically. "It had a rope ladder and a banner! It was definitely worth fighting for."

"Conner, if you burst into singing 'A Girl Worth Fighting For', I'll never forgive you," Alex teased.

"Just so you know, I'm done with randomly singing Mulan songs," Conner deadpanned.

"Yeah, wouldn't want to embarrass yourself in front of Bree again," Fred commented casually, too casually.

Alex shot Fred a look. Fred ignored her.

…Weird. Recently Fred seemed to had taken to ignoring Alex.

An interesting shade of red mounted on Conner's cheeks. "Well yeah, t-that was one of the Top Ten Worst Moments Of My Life. It was very stupid of me," he laughed to ease his nerves.

Both Alex and Fred awkwardly laughed along, knowing full well what his mortification was about.

Alex continued to flip through the pages, as memories of simpler and more innocent times flitted into her mind. That was when her father was still alive, and she and Conner were practically fed with fairy tales every day. Alex remembered wanting to be a fairy so she could fly and help people with her magic. And ironic how now, she knew she had real fairy blood running through her veins. She could probably do magic if she wanted to.

Once upon a time, she wielded a paper wand, enthusiastically chanting arbitrary words in hopes of casting a spell. Now, she had actual knowledge and proof that she was related to a fairy, _the_ famous Fairy Godmother. Sometimes, Alex wished she didn't know about her supposed magical abilities. Knowing they existed yet being able to do nothing, _nothing_ about it was absolutely painful. Her eyes focused on the glittery pink star that was taped on top of the "magic wand". How much did she want to run to her old self and tell her, with joy, that magic was real! But with her grandmother being virtually cut off from her, it seemed like the reality of magic had also vanished into nothing. Leaving nothing behind except old storybooks, fond memories and a twin.

"Yo! Alex!"

Alex blinked. Fred was snapping his fingers in front of her face.

"You were spacing out," Fred continued.

"...Oh! Sorry about that." Alex smiled apologetically and returned to the photo album.

It was a pity how she and Conner didn't have pictures of their time in the Land of Stories. Everything would be so much better, with at least tangible record of the wonderful people they'd met and the beautiful scenery they'd witnessed.

But Conner had his stories.

That was almost all they had.

And somehow, with his knack for words and talent for vivid descriptions, Alex felt everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Fred could feel things changing.

The Bailey Twins had always been close, but after their father's unfortunate death, and especially their abrupt disappearance last year, they seemed to stick to each other more.

And in the summer, Fred could gradually see that the twins seemed happier. Conner bounded around with more energy. And Alex… Alex lit up like one of those Christmas lights. She was still quiet and reserved, but she smiled more, as if she had some secret knowledge to the happiness of life itself.

And there was something endearing about that.

His heart burst with warmth and his stomach twisted in that wonderfully awful way.

Fred wasn't stupid. Despite never having really experienced it before, he knew what he was feeling. It was fun to flirt with other girls and get them all riled up and bathe in the attention, but it was somehow… different with Alex. It was softer, fonder. It felt bashful, but it felt lasting, long-term, unlike the hot white sparks he'd shared with other people.

Fred somehow felt it was _wrong_ to see Alex in that way. She was one of his best friends and his other best friend's sister. Alex was _special_. She was out of bounds.

But Fred had never had much impulse control anyway, and he couldn't stop his feelings from overflowing.

Fred remembered when they were seven and Alex won her first spelling bee. She'd run to him and Conner screaming, looking uncharacteristically animated. Fred vaguely recalled how she'd grabbed both of their hands then leapt up and down, face flushed with excitement. Then they were nine and Alex was dragging them to watch _Harry Potter_ with her (Fred didn't want to read the books despite the overwhelming opinion that the books were better). And then they grew up and as Fred and Conner found friends of their own, Alex was still there, loitering by the side. Alex gradually enclosed herself in a shell, only opening up to those close to her. And somehow, Fred had always unconsciously looked out for her, making sure she wasn't bullied or too sad or whatever. They were friends! It was perfectly normal to look out for her, except maybe Fred noticed Alex's geekiness and intellect and quick wit and kindness a _little_ too much.

Then Mr. Bailey's death.

Suddenly the twins fell into a black abyss.

Suddenly Fred's world turned upside down and people around him were forced to go through rocky roads they weren't supposed to take at this age.

And Fred was so stupidly helpless, he didn't know what to do, he didn't know what he _could_ do. He hadn't experienced their pain and grief. He didn't want to seem like he was offering fake sympathy. He didn't want to come off as patronizing. So many emotions welled up inside of him but his lips were bland and dry. His best friends were hurting and he could just watch.

His heart ached and his vision blurred with tears, but he thought it would be selfish for him to cry as he didn't lose a loved one, so he kept it all in.

Then he realized maybe he didn't need to say anything after all.

He just provided a shoulder for them to cry on and all three of them collapsed into a glorious, sobbing, heartbroken mess. It was awful, with endless runny noses and sniffling and hot tears, but it was also intensely cathartic.

Fred watched as the Bailey family struggled against the odds and pull themselves up again. He watched as Conner cracked more jokes. He watched as Alex devoted herself to her studies and practically devoured books almost as if to honour her late father. Fred knew they would weather through this storm. A great relief flooded him. He could feel his bond with the twins tightening. Nothing could destroy their friendship, even if they were worlds apart. The three of them were inseparable.

Fred had always cared for Alex. And recently, not quite in the same way he cared for Conner. He'd noticed her when not a lot of people did. Alex was the quiet bookworm, the model student, the exasperated but loving sister, the shy girl who always nervously tucked her hair behind her headband. Fred didn't want some gorgeous lady with a charming personality or whatever. _Sure_ , he flirted with girls plenty because it was fun, and it wasn't like they would take him seriously. Besides, his classmates all thought he was a playboy and had zero commitment. And Fred still felt really weird for having non-platonic thoughts about Alex, so he tried to distract himself (he failed).

Somehow, Alex, just by being who she was, had wormed her way into his heart.

And Fred just wished it would die down.

He'd let it slip during the ice skating incident. He was honestly just trying his best to be a good friend, but there was that lingering voice in the back of his mind whispering " _she knows, everyone knows_ ".

For someone who has a huge flirt, he sure was hesitating a lot when it came to pursuing Alex.

But Fred thought it was for the better. He didn't want to accidentally ruin both of his precious friendships. It just wasn't worth the risk.

So for now, he would keep his feelings under lock and key.

* * *

The chilly wind blew through Bree's hair. She was thankful for her beanie, which kept her head warm and snug. She ambled past a little café, colourful fairy lights still glittering inside the windows. It was already January, and yet the whole town was still hanging onto the Christmas mood. Understandable, considering Christmas was such a lovely and heartwarming festival.

Bree had a good holiday. She had snuck out on New Year's Eve to attend a concert, and it was hella _amazing._ Bree was totally not going to enter a brand new year by sleeping (that would be so anticlimactic). She'd sneaked out of her home a thousand times before so she was pretty confident in not getting caught. Bree sighed, white puffs of air escaping her mouth. She missed the adrenaline rush and cheering in elation along with the rest of the audience. Bree could still feel the way the ground shook in time with the pounding of the screaming people around her.

But oh, her bit of excitement was now over. Her window to the free world was closed again. Bree could sneak out as much as she would like, go to as many concerts and whatever, but she knew she could never really run away and have a _solid_ adventure. The idea was too ludicrous and risky, even for Bree.

"Bree! Happy birthday!"

Bree looked up and saw Danielle's vivid red hair flash against the background. Bree smiled and waved. Danielle said she was treating her to lunch as a gift, so here they were.

"Thanks, Dani."

"I hope you can have a great year!" Danielle continued with a big grin. "Keep your grades up, have more fun, meet new people…"

Bree sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead. "I really wish I can have more fun. Studying is pretty boring. I honestly enjoy learning but the education system _sucks_. It saps the joy out of it."

"Ah, here you go again," Danielle giggled. "Maybe you can grow up to be someone influential and change our dumpster of a society."

Bree thoughtfully tapped her chin. What did she want to become? She definitely wanted to contribute to the world and have a proper adventure, but Bree didn't find the idea of fame attractive. It was too much for her, to be surrounded by flashing cameras and bodyguards and nosy reporters desperate to find every detail about her. Bree knew she would rather live in the French countryside, growing her own food and washing her clothes by a stream or something. Maybe being an author wasn't bad, considering she could share her thoughts with the world and stay out of the limelight at the same time.

… She wondered if Conner wanted to be an author too. It seemed like an awfully fitting career for him.

Bree rather glad it was just Danielle and her. It seemed more intimate somehow, even though periods of dead-air happened more frequently. Bree asked Danielle about her musical and Danielle excitedly rambled on about the people there, the lines, the inside jokes, _everything._ Bree was happy to see her so enthusiastic; she had a sneaking suspicion Danielle didn't have many chances to talk much.

"Oh, there I go, blabbering about myself again. We're supposed to be celebrating your birthday," Danielle laughed awkwardly.

"Nah, I don't really mind. Besides, I don't have much to share," Bree said. She'd texted her friends about her New Year's concert already. Bree idly hoped Danielle wouldn't start to chat about boys, but knowing her love-hate relationship with her crush on Fred, Danielle wouldn't initiate anything about romance as she would just be digging a grave for herself. And Bree had no desire to share her feelings on Conner.

Thankfully, they managed to steer clear of that direction by some unspoken mutual agreement. It was quite the achievement, considering whenever two or more teenage girls got together and chatted for long enough, they would somehow eventually end up talking about crushes. It was peculiar and almost hilarious. Bree wondered if all female middleschoolers shared one brain.

Bree shared silly anecdotes about the dumb stuff her sisters did, and they laughed over it together. Bree remembered being glad she had Danielle as a friend. Danielle could be flighty and giggly at times, but she was a sweet and well-meaning person.

"By the way, have you ever thought of joining a musical or drama?" Danielle asked as she speared a bit of potato with her fork.

The question spun in Bree's mind for quite a while, and she chewed leisurely to buy her time. From her past experiences in class plays, she didn't mind acting. In fact, if Bree was completely honest with her honest, she was pretty decent at acting (Bree disliked how boastful she might sound). She always knew how to manipulate hotel receptionists when she was staying with her grandmother, and she had sneaked into places several times already. Maybe it was time to put her skills (could they be called skills?) to practical use.

"Well, I don't mind being in a drama," Bree admitted. "I want to try new things. But I'm not too keen on singing, the audience would just suffer upon hearing my horrendous voice."

There was a bang as Danielle leaned across the table and clutched Bree's hands. Bree instinctively recoiled, but the excitement gleaming in Danielle's eyes made her pause.

Danielle beamed. "Great! Wanna join the annual production next year with me? You don't even have to sing."

"Umm-"

"I've been waiting for someone I know to join! The theatre kids are _super_ nice but sometimes I wish I have someone, yeah? And it's really fun, and…"

Bree patiently listened to Danielle's ramblings. The poor girl was probably desperate for a companion. Bree understood her attempts to escape loneliness, but Bree typically wasn't one to mindlessly do something just for anyone, especially if that thing was rather significant, such as joining the school's annual production. Bree wasn't mean or insensitive, she just tended to be rather individualistic.

"Yeah, I'll think about it," Bree promised. "School's getting boring without extracurricular activities. And I don't want to focus on the SAT exam now."

Danielle's face lit up like stars. "You won't regret it!" she cheered.

* * *

School went past in a blur. To his mother's chagrin, Conner continued to charge through assignments the night before they were due. Before he knew it, two months had swept by him since the start of the new year. Nothing much had happened, except Conner had three new story ideas (all discarded after a week of their creation) and he'd somehow learnt when Bree's birthday was (Conner still had no idea why he was so caught up on her).

Valentine's Day was approaching and Conner couldn't care less. Unfortunately, everyone at school was downright obsessed with romance and gossip. During the days before Valentine's, the classrooms were stock-full of hushed whispers and fervent glances at certain people. Who would write cards to who? Who would ask who out? Which couple would most likely get together? These sort of questions bombarded Conner's brain and honestly, he was getting so tired of it.

"WHAT'S the point of love?" he exploded one day at school, slamming his hands on his desk. As always, everyone in the room spun to look at him.

"Ooh, you seem rather frustrated by the lovey-dovey atmosphere in the air," Fred, who was next to Conner, teased. He reached over and lightly punched Conner on the shoulder. "Has someone caught your eye?"

Conner scrunched his face up, clearly showing surprise and disbelief. "No? How about _you_ , Flirty McFlirt? Which of your many girlfriends will you hang out with?"

"Huh," Fred casually ran a hand through his hair, "I'm too handsome for all of them. Besides, they aren't my girlfriends." He fanned himself dramatically. "I'm still single, dudes."

Conner distinctly heard someone mutter "ugh, he's such a playboy". He couldn't help but think they were right, but at the same time, he knew Fred didn't have bad intentions.

Out of the corner of his eye, Conner saw Bree chatting with her friends. A thought popped into his mind and Conner suddenly wondered whether Bree cared about Valentine's. Considering she avoided the school's gossip circle like a plague, she probably thought Valentine's was nothing special. It was just some overly sappy day the capitalists invented to sell nauseating pink stuff everywhere (Conner knew that probably wasn't the case, but it _felt_ like that to him).

Alex, who was hanging out with them, wrinkled her nose. "Valentine's Day seems nice in theory, but in reality, it's sorta weird," she said. "It's placing so much focus on relationships and if you don't date someone, you will die unhappy and alone. I get it's romantic and all that, but I don't think it's supposed to happen in a middle school. We're not mature."

"Interesting," Fred said, stroking his chin. "Hey, do you want to get married?"

Conner blinked, the abrupt turn of the conversation shocking him. They were just literally talking about stupid puppy love and now they had progressed to _marriage_? Things sure escalated quickly.

Conner puffed his chest in an act of "manliness". "Alex, if you ever get a boyfriend, or girlfriend, or whatever, they have to go through me first," he declared gravely.

"Yeah, sure. Anyways, to answer your question," Alex turned to Fred, "I don't mind marriage, but I'll only marry if I find the right person. I won't settle for anyone less."

"So you won't marry for marriage's sake," said Fred.

Conner crossed his arms. "Well, I hope you find the most amazing, perfect person to marry."

"You too," Alex grinned. "No one hurts my little brother and gets away with it."

"Cool, so no one's going to beat up people if I get heartbroken," Fred drawled sarcastically in mock-hurt.

"Yeah, we're just going to leave you to your own devices," Alex said in an offhand way, her face looking innocently nonchalant.

Conner shrugged his shoulders apathetically. "Sucks to be you, bro."

There was a beat as Fred looked from twin to twin.

"Just kidding, we'll murder your hypothetical ex with nothing but a rusty spoon," Alex joked.

Conner blinked. When did Alex become as nonsensical as he was?

Fred raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that's weird. What's happened to you? Ohhhh, I see." Fred swerved and pointed a finger at Conner dramatically. " _You'_ re a bad influence on her!"

"Oh, so the blame is on me now! As if you don't say weird crap!" Conner argued.

However, before their absurd argument could escalate, the bell rang. A collective sigh echoed amongst the class as they resigned themselves to another dreary day of school.

"Guess I'll leave," Alex said after taking a quick look at the clock. She didn't share her first lesson with Fred and Conner.

"Mhmm," Conner replied absentmindedly, eyes fixating on Bree's purple beanie as she sauntered out of the classroom.

Just as Alex darted out of the door, some tall guy swaggered in and bumped into her. Conner mentally groaned- it was Brad Buchanan, the school's resident jock, womanizer, and "nice guy". His watery blue eyes were constantly squinted in an attempt to look "effortlessly cool" (Conner privately believed he needed glasses) and had a habit of invading people's personal space. His skin was so unbelievably pale, Conner wondered if he was actually a vampire (oh no, he was getting _Twilight_ flashbacks). If Fred was the "goofy, ridiculous, trying and failing to be suave" flirt, Brad was the "rude, sort of creepy, aggressive" flirt. No one liked him, but yet out of fear, coercion, or whatever, everyone was forced to like him.

"He didn't even apologize when he hit Alex," Conner muttered.

Fred face was uncharacteristically stony. "Jerk," he hissed.

Fred took his seat besides Conner (they always sat together whenever possible) and waited for the lesson to begin. Conner noticed that Fred was fervently tapping his feet on the ground, a sign of frustration. He wondered what Fred was so worried about; maybe he could ask him later.

Someone clapped Brad heartily on the back. "Yo dude, who are you going to ask out for Valentine's?"

"Huh," Brad snorted derisively. "You'll know soon enough."

That sounded strangely ominous to Conner, but he couldn't care less. If there was something he actually cared about on Valentine's, it was the love lives of Fred and Alex, which, to his knowledge, were practically non-existent. Of course, the rumours of some chick named Danielle crushing on Fred were ever persistent, but since Fred did not care, Conner assumed it was a one-sided thing.

And for some reason, Conner _still_ found himself thinking about Bree. They weren't even close. Conner sort of hoped Bree didn't have a crush on someone. He didn't know how he would feel about that. Would he feel sad? But that was odd. Conner didn't like Bree that way, at least, he thought he didn't.

Conner shivered. He was probably thinking too much. This stupid Valentine's whatever-the-heck it was had caused him too much bewilderment already.

* * *

Bree ambled through the school gates on one fine crisp winter morning. Upon hearing clusters of students chattering heatedly Bree suddenly remembered what day it was. Mentally, she groaned, but outwardly, she kept her signature neutral expression.

Danielle had downright refused to do anything related to Frederick Hayford. In fact, she was deliberately avoiding Fred to "prove" she didn't like him (it was so sad, it was almost funny). Bree had witnessed Danielle ducking behind lockers, people, bushes, or just anything really. Danielle stubbornly looked away whenever Fred was around. In Bree's humble opinion, it just made Danielle's crush ten times more obvious.

Bree didn't really expect anything to happen on Valentine's. They were all making a big fuss out of nothing. That cursed day would pass by like every other day.

Bree was wrong.

Lunchtime. Bree was chilling with her friends. Most people had finished their lunches and were just chatting idly. Her friends enthusiastically shared the latest gossip on who got together and Bree listened absentmindedly, nodding at the right places.

Bree got up to return her tray and almost immediately felt her skin tingle. Her gut was screaming at her that something bad was about to happen, but she didn't know what. A bit confused and wary, Bree swept an eye over the cafeteria. Conner's oh-so-familiar strawberry blond hair caught her attention, but the sensation she was feeling was different from his magic aura. It was one of fear and dread, not fluttering butterflies and electricity. Bree frowned.

It was then she spotted a bunch of boys loitering a few paces away. Female instinct punched her in the stomach and suddenly Bree wanted to exit the world. She knew they were talking about her.

She had to get away. Stupid middleschooler boys-

"Yo, Campbell!"

It was Brad.

Annoyed, Bree spun and found herself face-to-face with the infamous Brad "Bad" Buchanan. Brad had his hands casually stuck in his pockets.

Bree didn't like the look he was giving her. Bree especially hated how his cronies wolf-whistled. People started to stop and stare at them. Bree winced when she heard them whisper among themselves.

"What do you want, _Brad_?" Bree asked politely enough, stressing the last word as if she was talking to a toddler.

Brad's hands were still, aggravatingly enough, shoved in his pockets nonchalantly. He tossed his head, his eyes still has squinted as always.

"Be my Valentine?" he said gruffly in an attempt to be like the cool, "aloof" guys.

Bree blinked. That was the worst possible way to ask someone out. And he was doing it in a _school cafeteria._

Bree looked around, seeking a response from her classmates. Danielle's mouth was open in a silent scream, and some of her other friends were glaring at Brad, clearly showing distaste. At least they were all in agreement. Nearby, Fred Hayford was murmuring to someone, and Conner- well Conner had the most curious expression. His unusually serious face had turned as white as a sheet, and his lips were pressed into a hard, thin line. His eyes were wide as he took in the scenario. Bree couldn't tell whether he was angry or scared. Or both.

"Umm, no," Bree said decisively. "I'm… _flattered_ but I don't like you. That way."

(Bree would've rather omitted the "that way", but she didn't want to seem too mean.)

Confusion (not hurt) clouded Brad's face. His squinty eyes became even more squinty, if possible. "Huh? I thought you _liked_ me."

Bree raised her eyebrows dramatically. " _No_? I _don't_?" she proclaimed loudly and clearly.

(She sneaked a look at Conner. The poor boy looked like he was about to explode. Good grief.)

"Why would you think that?" Bree asked, genuinely curious as she had done nothing to indicate her interest in _Brad_ of all people. If someone accused her of crushing on Conner, Bree would think it was reasonable as she did have a crush on him and she had been observing him for some time. Bree racked her brain and for the life of her couldn't find anything romantic between herself and Brad.

"You helped him with maths," said one of Brad's friends (Bree was sure he had a name, but she suddenly couldn't bring herself to care).

"You picked up his books when they fell over," said someone else.

"You were nice to him."

"So?" Bree couldn't believe her ears. Could boys really be that misguided and self-entitled? Was Bree living in some sort of cliché tumblr post about heterosexual males? "I've helped others with maths. I've picked up a ton of books. I try to be nice to most people." She paused for effect, then articulated, "Stop mistaking basic decency for romantic attraction."

Each word was like a bullet from a gun, deadly and concise. Bree revelled in the chorus of "oooohs" that sounded from her classmates.

(Somewhere among the crowd, Bree heard a voice say "and that's the tea, sis".)

Brad frowned. His eyes were still squinted. Maybe he needed glasses. Scratch that, he probably needed glasses.

"So you're not going out with me?" he said bluntly.

"No."

A beat.

"Sorry," Bree added quickly, sounding a lot more apathetic than she'd intended (well, at least she was being honest that way).

Brad's already unpleasant face suddenly contorted into an even more unpleasant expression complete with an ugly scowl.

"You bitch," he spat. "I can't believe you played me like that! I bet no guy is willing to date you."

Bree drawled sarcastically, "Ah yes, I'm feeling very attacked by the heteronormativity-"

"HEY, BUCHANAN!"

Bree didn't even need to look to know what was happening. Her furious friends were all standing up for her. Gratitude oozed from her heart and she smiled, half from the gesture of friendship and half from amusement.

"Nobody says stuff like that to Bree!" Danielle hollered, fists clenched by her side. " _Apologize_!"

"Yeah, stop being salty just because you got rejected!" screeched Abigail, one of Bree's friends.

"I can't believe your ego is even more fragile than my mental health!" Hannah bellowed.

"Your opinion on Bree changed quicker than the way you change love interests!"

Bree had to laugh at their ridiculous yet totally accurate roasts. "Alright girls, calm down, he doesn't deserve that much attention."

Brad glared at her (Bree couldn't believe his eyes were still comically squinted!) and stalked away, his friends leaving along with him. He muttered something, and while Bree couldn't hear the words, she assumed it was something bad about her. Bree turned away. Yes, she was vexed and humiliated, but she didn't have the time and energy to deal with drama.

Until she heard an awfully familiar shout.

* * *

Truth to be told, Conner _did_ feel a bit bad for lashing out on Brad.

Conner could've handled things in a more mature way instead of just, oh he didn't know, screaming. But Conner had never been particularly good at restraining his true emotions.

Conner tried. He genuinely tried. But the thought, the mere thought of Bree being called 'bitch" or something just as degrading made him feel sick. His stomach churned with unease and disgust and more importantly, a raging thirst for justice. Conner told himself repeatedly to stay calm and let his righteous anger simmer. It wasn't like Bree was his friend or anything (they were just classmates). He technically had no reason to be that mad.

(Actually, at that moment, Conner didn't really think about why he was annoyed, he just was. Instinctively. He was too blinded by his blazing emotions to think.)

Bree successfully defeated Brad the menace with one sentence ("stop mistaking basic decency for romantic attraction") and then the entire cafeteria _rioted_. The crowd went absolutely bonkers, whooping and cheering and clapping. Conner couldn't help but smirk. Now that was the effortlessly cool, sassy, totally amazing Bree Campbell he knew.

Bree could deal with Brad even if no one was by her side. And in addition, her friends had some pretty sick burns for Brad. There was no need for Conner's involvement. Absolutely no need.

Conner bit his lip, trying to swallow back the insults and words that were on the tip of his tongue. His fingernails were subconsciously digging into his palm tightly. Bree didn't deserve all that crap that had just happened. In fact, no one deserved that, but somehow, the fact that it concerned _Bree_ made Conner's heart beat a little faster (why was he biased?).

Conner was thinking of letting it go when Brad was leaving.

But then he heard Brad say something mean and totally untrue about Bree again, and _he just snapped._

"Why are you so mean to her!" he burst out. In his agitated state, words were stumbling out of his mouth with little structure. He didn't care. He couldn't care. "Don't you want to ask her out? You're so… so two-faced!" he spat out the last word with venom.

Admittedly, Conner's speech could've gone a lot better if he'd chosen his words more carefully (like Bree did). That way, he wouldn't sound as stupid and impulsive. But Conner was in no mood to extract roasts and elaborate sentences from his brain. Boiling blood roared in his ears, rendering him deaf expect for what that jerk Buchanan was saying.

Conner's cheeks were an angry firetruck scarlet, a fantastic contrast to his deathly pale face just thirty seconds ago.

Brad started at him as if he'd grown two heads. "Why so mad, man?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"You're being extremely arrogant," Conner griped. "You think you're so entitled to girls that you can just insult them AND blame them for rejecting you. Dude, you're the prime example of toxic masculinity. You-"

Brad scoffed. "Stop using such preten-pretenti-whatever words. You're insane, man."

"You don't even know what 'pretentious' is," Fred remarked, appearing by Conner's side loyally. Damn, maybe the two of them really had been influenced by Alex's linguistic abilities.

"Okay, dude, listen." Brad scowled and turned to face Conner. "What I do doesn't concern you. Get your crusty ass out of my business. Why do you care, huh? Scared that I'm going to take your little girlfriend away?"

"You don't have to like someone to stand up for them," Conner retaliated, his voice as cold as ice. His face was ironically flaming hot with resentment and frustration. Upon his words, the crowd oooohed again, displaying support for Conner. Some of them even started to boo Brad, and others mimed throwing rubbish at him. Satisfaction flared inside Conner, and he even dared to sneak a look at Bree.

Bree's face was deceptively calm. Conner was sure a well-hidden storm of emotions was churning inside her. Her brown eyes met his blue ones, and for once, Conner didn't shy away from her bright gaze. Perhaps he was too clouded by his determination and ire.

Brad Buchanan glowered, decided it wasn't worth the fight, and strode away. Conner still simmering and he glared daggers at Brad until he vanished from view. He didn't even realize every muscle in his body was tense until Fred placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, dude. Look at him, retreating with his tail between his legs," Fred commented idly.

(So Fred was using idioms now? Must be because of Alex.)

Conner huffed, and slowly felt the anger seep from his cheeks. However, the embarrassment from being in the center of attention made him flush again. Fortunately for him, once the drama was over, the crowd dissipated. They were still murmuring among themselves, but at least they weren't all staring at him.

"Yo." Fred nudged Conner. Conner half-heartedly looked up and to his astonishment, saw Bree approaching him. A new wave of emotion crashed over him. Conner's knees inexplicably wobbled beneath him and it felt like his world was spinning. Why was Bree coming here? What did she have to say? What if she was mad at him for meddling?

Conner felt his Adam's apple bob nervously. Despite his "heroic" (read: dumbassery) performance just now, Bree's mere presence suddenly rendered him anxious and fearful. She was now closer to him, just a few steps away. Oh God, she probably hated him. Another step. Conner could see the pink and blue strands of hair in her bangs, swaying in the wind. Why did he care if she hated him? Why was he so caught up in seemingly insignificant things?

Bree stopped. Technically she was still some ways from him, but it felt too, too close to Conner. He could see how tall she was in relation to him (she reached his eyebrows). She had some really cute flower earrings. Wait, her mouth was moving-

"Thanks," she said.

And Conner's heart exploded.

* * *

A furious Conner Bailey should be unfamiliar to Bree, but somehow she felt it suited him.

Bree almost expected it, really. Conner had a tendency to stand up for his friends and call out others for their offensive behaviour. She vividly recalled how he'd been angry at the kid who kept on pulling her hair, and how he'd steadfastly defended Alex when she was bullied. She'd seen how quickly the cheerful, light-hearted Conner could switch to a furious, loyal protector of justice.

Conner's crimson face was practically glowing with anger. Something hard and steely shone in his blue eyes, something she didn't quite understand but resonated with. His usual joyful attitude had slipped from him, and Bree admitted to feeling slightly scared. But the entire thing was so Conner, so raw and honest, so genuine Bree couldn't help but be touched by his actions. Sure, Conner stumbled over his words, but each one of them was powered with a righteous anger that burned from within. He didn't want attention, fame, revenge or whatever. He was just standing up for what he believed in. And the intention and resolve alone was enough to make Bree admire him.

So she went towards him and said thanks.

Conner looked thunderstruck, his cheeks still pink with residual emotion. A bit selfishly, Bree enjoyed the effect she had over him. He was too cute.

"You didn't have to do that, but you did, so thanks." A pause. "That was… sweet of you," she added hastily in a hushed voice. The last sentence was only meant for Conner's ears.

Brilliant red rose in Conner's face again. Bree noticed how the corner of his lips twitched, as he was fighting back an involuntary smile. "Oh, umm, I was wondering if that was a faux pas, because I didn't want to be the 'nice guy' or y'know, the white guy in shining armour- uh that's not it, the guy with a white horse or the guy with shining armour, not white guy…"

Bree smiled. "It's fine, I understand. I don't think you were being very 'nice guy'."

Conner slapped his forehead with his hand. "Ugh, I'm making things worse. I had no intention of 'saving' you. You did a fantastic job of slaying Buchanan, by the way. You're so cool."

Bree could hear the wistful adoration in his tone and now _she_ had to suppress a merry smile. She noted how Fred Hayford had a smirk on his face as he observed their interaction. He probably knew of Conner's crush on her.

"Heh, you weren't so bad yourself."

Crap, they were being so awkward. Every inch of Bree's skin was tingling uncomfortably, so she excused herself as quickly as she could.

Stupid butterflies were fluttering in her stomach again. Bree's friends enveloped her like a flock of birds and they discussed passionately about Brad and Conner. Despite being the main focus of their chit-chat, Bree was only listening half-heartedly. She didn't want to deal with gossip and speculation right now.

* * *

The days went on and they zoomed off towards the warm yet humid season of spring. Bree had miraculously managed to keep her feelings under control, and apparently Conner was still being his usual oblivious self. Life was good, albeit a bit boring, but it wasn't _too_ boring with the Bailey twins around. Brad didn't bother her much long after Bree threatened to disembowel him and ditch his body in the sea (Brad probably knew about the murder mysteries she read). Neither Conner nor Bree made a move, and Bree was rather thankful for that. A relationship was scary.

But it was fun. Bree often heard of Conner's antics and bore witness to some of his silly pranks. He still wrote creative and enjoyable short stories. And apparently he was once dared to climb up a tree and he nearly fell down (Bree would be lying if she said her heart didn't stop). Bree still had no big leads on the Bailey Twins Mystery, but at this point, she might as well enjoy her life.

But then suddenly, unexpectedly, the twins- _both_ of them- vanished into the soupy, foggy air.

The first day, Bree thought they had caught a cold.

The second day, Bree thought they had caught an extra bad cold.

The third day, Bree noted the lost expression on Fred's face and how people were murmuring they had disappeared again, and the Bookhugger's sudden interest in their neighbourhood shenanigans and Mrs. Bailey's new husband and everything-

Then her world, as she knew it, came crashing down.

* * *

 **A/N: WOOO IT WAS FOTR'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY ON 19/9! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BRAINBABY!**

 **(Lol… it's been two years and I've just written ten chapters.)**

 **BY THE WAY, WE REACHED 50K WORDS :D HALFWAY TO 100K!**

 **When I first penned the ideas of FOTR down, it was meant to be purely a Conneree fic, focusing on their development and relationship. However, the more I write, the more I realize it isn't just Conner and Bree. It's also my take on Alex, the entire wonky timeline, the potential school life of the kids, and other things. I've added things and details to my own liking. It's almost like my version of TLOS, based on Chris Colfer's work, but also full of my own touches and style.**

 **I'm not a huge fan of TLOS now, but your lovely comments, FOTR and Conneree are what keep me going.**

 **Also, Brad is like That White Guy and his last name is a reference to Tom from** _ **The Great Gatsby**_ **(I studied that in Literature class last year).**

 **It has also occurred to me that Bree and Brad's ship name (God forbid) would be Bread. More like** _ **Dread.**_ **If you start shipping them I** _ **will**_ **steal your kneecaps.**

 **Writing the stupid middleschooler "fight" scene took me back to 2016 or something, guess that's what happens my brain is too tired to function and just comes up with juvenile comedy or whatever. Also, I've realized that all of the main beef happens at the school cafeteria during lunchtime. AM I INCAPABLE OF WRITING ANOTHER VENUE.**

 **School has been a new level of hell. I've taken up a leadership role this year, and I feel like I'm just being dragged along by my duties, skin scraping against the ground. I don't even have the energy to think and write. Sometimes I can't even formulate complete, legible sentences and heck, I write as a hobby! I have no idea when I'll be able to write/ update, so please don't bombard me with messages telling me to update, I'm pretty stressed out.**

 **Thank you very much for your kind reviews! They are what keeps me going!** _ **Alex I know**_ **, thanks for saying that this sounds professional! Means a lot as I'm not a native English speaker :D Also, it's really coincidental that your name is Alex and you have a brother named Connor… lol I wonder if you two are the true inspiration behind TLOS :D. I'll try to keep on writing since I put so much effort in constructing this and planning everything, it'll be a waste for me to abandon it :) And to** _ **TLOS lover**_ **, lol I can't believe it's that popular! Thanks! :D**

 **Thanks again for reading and please continue to review!**

 **28/9/2019**


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